A Wedding Story
by JanetBanana
Summary: Set about ten years into the future. Edwin is proposing to Lizzie. But what do Derek and Casey think about this? Lizwin and Dasey.
1. Chapter 1

My name is Edwin Venturi, and my girlfriend's name is Lizzie MacDonald. We live in Boston, Massachusetts. Our family lives in London, Ontario.

The interesting thing about us is that the people who care don't get it, and the people who get it don't care. Or maybe it's not so much the interesting thing as the unfortunate thing. But either way it's true.

My father and Lizzie's mother are married. They tied the knot when we were about eleven. Those would be the first people. Well I don't really know. They don't know about us yet. We're waiting for college graduation first. My brother and her sister (who feel the same way we do about each other) their very close friends, Sam and Emily, my little sister Marti and our Bostonian friends would be the second people. The people who can put our stepsibling relationship aside and realize that we love each other and really, the only thing making us stepsiblings at all is our parents wedding certificate. If you don't count Derek and Casey, who obviously get it seeing as they have experienced it first hand, there is still a large group of friends and my sister, who all love us and care about us.

Derek and Casey and Lizzie and I live in a two-bedroom apartment in Boston. There are probably a dozen colleges and universities in the Boston area. That's how Casey and Derek ended up there to begin with. Casey got a full tuition scholarship to Harvard. Derek was being scouted by plenty of colleges with hockey programs, so he ended up choosing a Boston school, which also gave him a scholarship. It was well known for hockey, and he easily explained away his decision to attend saying it would be easier financially on Dad, Nora, Casey, and himself, if the two of them shared an apartment. The wool was still completely covering their eyes, so they readily agreed.

The thing about them though is that even though they love each other, their relationship used to be _really _rocky. Tumultuous even. There would be yelling, door slamming, a new entry in Casey's diary, and some new dents in the garage door from where Derek's hockey puck hit it. A few hours, or days, or on occasion weeks later, we'd hear Derek's bed springs squeaking and know the freeze-out was over. After all, sex and fighting are what Casey and Derek do best. I guess that worked well for them, anyway. I mean, our parents certainly never noticed anything between the two of them what with all the screaming matches. And yet, they still got along well enough that living with each other didn't seem like a huge stretch. Derek could have chosen another school across the country from Casey, you know? It was a strange balance to begin with, I suppose. But it worked for them.

Lizzie and I were completely in love by the time they moved out. So it was a lot harder for us to keep our secret living in the same house with Dad and Nora without the drama and excitement Derek and Casey always seemed to leave our house in. I mean, what with all the spying and teaming up we did, from the time Dad and Nora got married, we've probably only had three or four really big fights. We did pretty well, though. We'd done our fair share of sneaking around before we got together, so we knew what we were doing. I mean, living with teenagers like the two of them, something worth spying on was always going on. Dad and Nora never suspected.

When _we_ were seniors, (incidentally, Casey and Derek were classified seniors in college) and started looking into colleges, Nora actually _encouraged_ us to look at schools in Boston. Which was great anyway, because Casey and I were two peas in the academic pod, and I'd gotten full tuition to Harvard as well. Lizzie received a partial scholarship to a school there too, as if fate were working with everyone's pocketbook to force it to happen. Derek and Casey were less than thrilled at sharing with us, but as they were about to graduate and the jobs they'd gotten weren't exactly paying them enough to refuse, here we were. Not to mention Casey was getting her masters, and still in school. All of us made an agreement that no one would tell our parents about us or about Derek and Casey until Lizzie and I graduated from college. That way, in case something horrible happened, we'd have real jobs and could afford it if they disowned us, or something.

We'd settled in quite nicely. Being far away from home and only each other to turn to, Derek and Casey's fighting became a lot less frequent, and by the time the two of us moved in, they only fight every once in a while. Three and a half years into this arrangement, and we were all having a blast. Marti called us every week to complain about how empty the house is, and Derek and I received countless emails from her that, among other things, nagged us to hurry up and propose already! Well, he hadn't yet taken the bait, but I bit the bullet and had elaborate plans set in motion for this Friday. Marti, Casey, Derek and Emily were all involved in these plans. You see, I wanted to propose to Lizzie back in London, where we fell in love. But I didn't want her to know that's _why_ she was back in London. So Marti was to tell one of her wild tales to get Lizzie to come home. I'd already ordered the plane tickets, so I hoped Lizzie agreed to go. The email she got from Marti went something like this:

"Dear Lizzie,

J S Thompson High is having a soccer day camp Saturday the 23rd. One of the helpers backed out and your old coach wanted me to ask you if you could help out. Nora said she'd buy you a plane ticket if you wanted to do it. Please get back to me by next weekend.

Thanks, Marti."

The genius of this is that it is actually _true. _Lizzie's old coach really _did_ want her help with a soccer camp. Marti forwarded me her reply, which went something like this:

"Marti,

Please tell coach Jansen I'm flattered she thought of me and I'd be glad to help out.

Love ya, Lizzie."

I had originally planned to drive Lizzie to the airport because my plane took off two hours later than hers. Casey had to pick up a coworker from a business trip only ten minutes after Lizzie needed to be at the airport though and volunteered to take her. Derek said he'd take me because he hadn't had a chance to talk to me lately, since I spent all my time in the library working on research papers. Both of them were going to spend Friday night at home and pretend to be completely surprised when Lizzie calls to tell them the good news. Well, at least, I hope it's good news. We'll find out Friday.

As Derek and I were on our way to the airport, he decided it was confession time. "So Ed, you're proposing to Lizzie."

"Um, yeah, way to state the obvious, D."

"Okay, forget the segue, I'll jump right in. Do you think it's weird that you guys got there first?"

"Eh, not necessarily. The two of you had a much rockier start, and to this day fight more than we do."

"So can I ask your advice?"

"You, the great Derek Venturi, want _my_ advice?"

"Yes, Edwin. The buck has been passed. I am asking for your help. Do you think Casey and I are ready for that step?"

"Yeah, I do. I mean, if it weren't for you and Casey, Lizzie and I never would have had the guts to get together anyhow. You guys have been together for what, over ten years, and show no signs of slowing down. Yeah. You're ready. So go for it. And don't worry, Marti and I will be glad to help with the plans, and I'm sure Lizzie will too."

"Dude, thanks. Now good luck."

"Thanks, man."

During the three hours on the plane, I stewed in nervousness, which resulted in an explanation of the last eleven and a half years to the stranger in the seat next to me, who shifted nervously and just kind of nodded a lot. I'm not sure if they were put off by the whole "stepsibling" thing, or if they just seemed taken aback by a total stranger spilling his life story. Anyway, once the plane landed Emily picked me up. Marti had picked up Lizzie earlier, and when I turned on my cell I found a text message telling me she still doesn't suspect a thing. We went to all this work keeping it a secret, and in about two hours it will all be worth it. I stood in Emily's living room pacing like a madman. She lived with Trevor on the other side of town from our house. It's kind of funny how the bet of two people in high school could affect two others so hugely.

"Edwin!" She gently shoved me onto the couch. "You're wearing a path into my carpet with all this pacing!"

"I'm sorry, Emily, I'm just so nervous! What if she says no? Worse! What if I get so nervous I can't manage to ask her?" I shout, throwing my hands in the air. "Emily!" I grab her shoulders and ask, "What if Dad and Nora are eating at the same restaurant as us and see the whole thing? I can't do this. I'm going to screw up I just know it!"

"Edwin, please." She takes my hands off her shoulders. "She will _not_ say no! She loves you! And you will be able to do it. And if your parents are _at_ the restaurant, don't bother to ask her there, just say you came on a surprise visit. Trust me, it will all work out!"

"Thanks. Sorry for freaking out on you."

"It's cool, happens to us all."

Ten minutes later she dropped me off at the park we spent a lot of time at when we lived here. Marti was dropping Lizzie off to "practice soccer" and was leaving me her car. Emily would take her home. Lizzie was never the type for tons of romance, but like any girl, she needed her fair share of it. The tricky part would be getting her into something she'd like to wear to a nice restaurant and out of her soccer duds without her suspecting what I was _really_ here to do. Marti and Casey are just genius at this stuff actually. Very essential. Without them, my proposal would be pathetic and boring. I really must give credit where credit is due. Anyway, this park is very large. So I was on the opposite end from the soccer field, and I made my way over there. Before I got to it though, I found Lizzie at a picnic table with her laptop open. She didn't see me so I snuck up behind her to see what she was doing. Any thoughts that I had of her saying no were erased when I read the screen. She was emailing me. It read:

"Dear Edwin,

Just dropping you a line to let you know my plane landed safely. I'll send you a longer email after supper, but I only have a little while here at the soccer fields. Just wanted you to know I miss you dearly and wish you were here with me. I'm kind of nervous about this soccer thing. You have no idea what I would give to be in your arms right now. I love you.

Lizzie"

So I said, "Guess you got your wish," as I wrapped my arms around her from behind. As she turned around in my embrace a look of complete (and happy, might I add) surprise graced her stunning features.

"Edwin! What are you doing here? I thought you were attending a seminar at school this weekend."

"I came to surprise you. Thought I'd brighten up your weekend a little."

"Its perfect, just what I needed. I must admit, the idea of being back here without you was depressing. I mean, honestly, I can't imagine London without you. Before Mom got married, I lived in Toronto; so really, the entire time I lived here you were here. We were always together too. Honestly on the plane here I just kind of got nervous about being away from you because it's the first time really. Heh, so I told the person sitting next to me on the plane why I was so nervous. I think they were sorry they asked."

"At least they asked."

"What?"

"Nothing. How about you come back to Emily's with me and get changed into something nice. I have reservations at Sophia's."

"You made reservations for _Sophia's!_ I brought sweats, nothing nice! Edwin, why?"

"Don't worry, I figured as much. So I also brought you a dress."

She just grinned so hard I thought her cheeks might freeze that way.

While she was getting fixed up, I just sat on Emily's couch trying to calm my nerves. I felt for the ring in my pocket and then I called Derek to tell him we were about to go to the restaurant and that so far all was going well. I then called to double check my reservations. Lizzie came out of the bathroom then looking better than I'd ever seen her. Her hair was falling in ringlets down her back. I'd never seen her in the dress I brought. It was Casey's; Lizzie wasn't much for dressy clothing. Casey looked nice enough in it, but it was _made_ for Liz. It was a nice bright, sparkly sapphire blue strapless dress. It came to about mid calf. I don't really know how else to describe it. But it made her a knockout.

When we got to the restaurant they took us to our booth, which was tucked away in a corner of the restaurant. Perfect. It was just what I'd asked for. Conversation over dinner was pretty lighthearted. Once we'd ordered dessert I decided to turn to the serious. I'd never been as good at words as at actions. The surprise of the evening was supposed to do most of the talking for me. I guess I'm not too great at actions either; Casey and Marti planned a lot of this. Well, as long as I could get the four essential words out I'd be okay. I still wanted to say something else though. I knew it'd sound cheesy, but that's okay.

"Liz, you mean the world to me. I can't imagine living without you in my life. I don't think I could've made it through three and a half years at Harvard without you to turn to when I got stressed. You are the most amazing woman I know. You know exactly how to be everything I need. Will you do me the honor of becoming Mrs. Edwin Venturi?"

As I slid the ring onto her finger, she looked at me, tears streaming down her face and said, "Yes."

I can say in all honesty, that it is the happiest moment in my life.

We went back to our old house that night after the proposal. Marti met us outside wanting to know the answer and squealed in excitement over hearing the good news. Well obviously, what sixteen-year-old girl wouldn't be thrilled to hear about a wedding? Dad and Nora heard her squeal.

"Hey, you two, what are you doing here? And so dressed up?" Nora asks.

Think quickly. It was definitely a surprise; we'd been there less than a month ago for Christmas. Coming home for a surprise visit is easily explained, but formalwear, not so much. Taking inspiration from what really happened I gave the quickest explanation I could come up with.

"Liz and I were invited to an engagement party for some friends of ours, so we thought we'd surprise you guys and visit. Plus, of course, you knew Lizzie would be here for her soccer camp tomorrow."

"Oh, that's tomorrow, I thought it was next weekend!"

Some things _never_ change.

"Come on in and catch us up on what's going on in your lives."

So that's how we ended up sitting around the table staring awkwardly at each other over some snacks Nora threw together. Lizzie and I wanted to talk about our impending wedding, but here we were, with Dad and Nora sitting there.

A part of me wanted to tell them right then. Confess the whole story, even Derek and Casey's part. But that was theirs to confess. And they'd been so nice to wait for us. But that didn't mean this wasn't awkward. Once Nora finished grilling us about school and life in Boston, she and Dad _finally_ decided to go to bed.

I'm not normally one to lie to family, parents especially. I mean, I'm not Derek. So the load of crap we kept feeding them as answers tonight, it really hurt. But what was our alternative? Blurting out "We just got engaged, and oh, by the way, we're not the only ones in the family who've been dating for ten years." Yeah right! Not going to happen! Not until Lizzie and I walked across the stage and threw our caps in the air. We only had to keep that secret for three and a half more months. I guess on a night like tonight it was just harder, is all. Finally, they went up to their room. The house had changed a lot since we were all gone. Marti had taken the basement, because what teenage girl (other than Casey, anyway) wouldn't love to have an entire floor all to herself? Even if said floor was semi-underground. Not to mention she got her own bathroom. Dad had knocked out the wall between Derek and Casey's old rooms to create a very large master once Liz and I moved out. That caused lots of laughter between the four of us on the plane ride home that first Christmas break. The irony of taking down the wall between _their_ rooms for a _master _bedroom. It was just very amusing. I'm not sure what will happen to mine and Lizzie's rooms once we graduate, but for now, they were the same as before, so we went up to my old room in the attic to talk.

"Some weird interruption of our evening, huh?" Lizzie says to me.

"You aren't kidding. So," I say as I sleepily pull her into a snug embrace, "As nervous as I was tonight, I don't think I ever managed to tell you how breathtaking you look in that dress. I'm going to have to convince Case to give it to you, because I definitely want to see you wear it again."

"I don't think she'll mind too much."

"So, when do you want to get married? I was thinking since we've been together for so long, maybe six months?"

"Six months seems like ages from now. But I guess it can't be any sooner. We can't even tell our parents for three months. It's a good thing we've managed to line up full-time jobs after graduation. It's going to be kind of weird getting married before Derek and Casey."

"Derek is planning to propose soon, actually. Maybe we can have a double wedding. We'll be inviting all the same people."

"Edwin, I want to have my _own_ wedding. Besides, Casey will want a big huge bash with every person she's ever met there. I just want a small, intimate gathering of close friends."

"Relax, I was kidding. Let Casey and Derek have their own day. And I agree about a small wedding."

We talked for hours, and fell asleep still dressed in our clothes, mid conversation. It wouldn't be the first time in this house the two of us fell asleep talking; actually it used to happen a lot. So Dad thought nothing of it when he came to wake us up so he and Nora could take us to breakfast before Lizzie's soccer camp. After breakfast Lizzie left and Marti took me to the park.

"I miss you guys. From the time I was born you and Derek were always there, and when I was six Casey and Lizzie came along. When Derek and Casey left I still had you and Lizzie, but now it's just me. The house is too quiet."

"Why don't you come stay with us for spring break? It'll be like old times. Maybe Derek and Casey will even pick a fight for you."

"Really, Edwin? You'd let me come visit for a week?"

"Of course! I'll take you to a Red Sox game and show you the city."

It had been too long since I spent time with my little sister. It reminded me of the days we all lived in the house.

The next day we were getting ready to go back home. Nora came up to my room where Lizzie was folding my clothes and I was checking to see if our flight was going to be on time.

"The four of you think you're pretty sneaky, don't you?"

"The _four_ of us? Um, there are only two people in this room besides you." I say uneasily.

"I mean the two of you and Derek and Casey."

"What about us?" Lizzie says looking at me nervously.

"You think I don't know? You think I haven't _always_ known? I never thought you'd keep the secret this long. I figured you'd break long, long ago."

"Break?" I say.

"About being in love with each other." She says like it is the most obvious thing in the world.

"You _know!_ And you're not mad?" Lizzie asks her.

"Mad? Only about the fact that you thought you had to hide it. Honey, I love you, and if you love Edwin then you have to be happy or what kind of mother does that make me?"

"And Dad? Does he know?" Just because Nora is fine with it didn't mean Dad would be. He's always been a little less likely to push convention than her.

"He's the one who figured it out. Well, about you two. I figured it out about Casey and Derek. We kept it from each other for quite a while, thinking the other might not be cool about it, until it caused a big fight and it all came out. We just kept waiting for you to tell us, but then we finally realized you weren't going to."

"Well, how did Dad find out we were together?"

"From Lizzie's fake prom date. He was in the bathroom on his cell phone with his girlfriend, Edwin's fake date. Your dad overheard his conversation and grilled him about it."

"Our prom dates? That was almost four years ago!"

"I know. And we waited and waited and you never said anything. Why did you keep it a secret anyway?"

"Well, you see, Nora, we thought you guys would be upset. Just because Lizzie and I don't see ourselves as brother and sister doesn't mean you guys don't."

"Edwin, I grew up with brothers. I knew from the very beginning none of you saw yourselves as brother and sister. I never fought with my brothers the way Casey fights with Derek. I wouldn't have dreamed of it. I also never would have spied on my other siblings with him. Maybe a mild mixture of the two, but you guys took nice to an extreme no brother of mine ever dared, and the two of them fought like an old married couple from day one no matter how long they tried to deny it. It was also pretty obvious how jealous Derek got of Casey's boyfriends. Casey got pretty jealous of his dates too. And I _never _dreamed of looking at my brother the way Lizzie looks at you. And you know how I see it?"

"How do you see it?" I ask.

"Just because you don't see yourself as Lizzie's brother, doesn't mean I can't see you as a son. Because I do. Who better to marry my daughter than someone like you? I know you're good enough for her. Same thing goes for Derek."

"Wow. All this time we thought we had you fooled. _And_ we thought you'd be furious. Nora, will you and Dad come visit us soon? I think Derek and Casey would like to hear this face to face. But first I think there's something you might want to know."

Lizzie walked over to her and said: "Mom, Friday night we weren't at a party for our friends. Friday, Edwin cooked up a big huge surprise for me. It ended with this." She held up her left hand.

Nora pulled us into a big hug and told us she was just thrilled and maybe we ought to go show Dad. As nice as it was to know our parents supported us, this whole thing was just turning into one big awkward bowl of mushiness. I couldn't wait for it to end. Still, I agreed, so the three of us went downstairs where Dad was working.

"George, the kids have some news."

He stopped what he was doing and gave us his full attention.

"Dad, I asked Lizzie to marry me."

"Son, that's wonderful! Well?" He looked at Lizzie expectantly.

"I said yes."

"Oh, finally. It took you long enough! What's it been, eight years?"

"Nine and a half," Lizzie corrected him.

"And you finally broke down and told me."

"Thanks to Nora."

"Did you say something to them?"

"Pretty much everything, George. I just couldn't take it anymore! So I told them we knew. And it all came out from there."

Marti walked in during this conversation and just started laughing.

When we boarded the plane, it was after a happy but tearful goodbye to our parents and sister. Not the scene I had imagined but definitely an enjoyable one. We all agreed that no one would tell Derek and Casey about our parents knowing. They would find out soon enough; our parents were coming with Marti for part of spring break. It was something I was looking forward to. I was also looking forward to not having to lie to my parents anymore.

When we got home, Derek picked us up from the airport. Casey wasn't there, which surprised me. True, she spent all of her free time at the library these days writing her dissertation, she's _always_ been a keener, but I thought she'd want to have one of those giggly girly moments with Lizzie. I soon realized why she wasn't there. When we got home, Derek opened the door, walked in and then shut it on us.

"Derek, why did you shut the door on us?" I opened it. There was a dinner on the table and a banner that said congratulations. Derek and Casey kind of mauled us in hugs. You could tell whose idea this had been. It reeked of girly cheesiness. It was nice in an embarrassing family sort of way. You know that phrase about how you can't pick your family? It applies to stepfamilies just as much. The only people who really get to pick are the parents. But, hell, I love them anyway. I couldn't have picked anything better. What can I say? Except every once in a while I don't mind having a cheesy stepsister who lends Lizzie clothes and tries to make the apartment and everyone who lives in it perfect. Every once in a while, I like Casey's control freaky, overbearing ways. And every once in a while, I have to tell her thanks.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Soo so sorry for the delay. This is my first time working with a beta, and she is in Iraq, so very busy. Be glad she beta'd though, or it'd be about five big block paragraphs. I'll see what I can do, because I definitely want to get this updated sooner this time. Here's chapter two. Hope you like it.

Derek's POV

My little bro is getting married. It's so strange. And it's so soon, a month after graduation! It's kind of confusing. I mean, I'm supposed to be the mature older brother and I'm still waffling over whether I should propose. It's not that I don't love Casey; I would be lying if I said that. But a marriage is so final. It's a promise of forever. Being with Casey forever shouldn't scare me after ten and a half years. Especially considering I'm still completely in love with her. I still feel my heart soar when she comes home from a business trip. Even when we fight I feel like I could never really let her go. And I know it makes me sound like an ass because it shouldn't scare me, the thought of forever, but it does.

But Edwin! Edwin waited as long as he had to, due to school, but practically as soon as he throws his cap in the air, he'll be throwing Lizzie's garter in the air. It's like the idea of never kissing another woman, never being able to do whatever you want without discussing it with anyone, never hopping on a plane with your buddy who got last minute tickets to the World Series, none of that even ruffles his feathers. He wants this commitment. He thrives on it. He isn't scared at _all_. No, he's running into this, ready to take it on. And I'm left standing here wondering if I'm even capable of it.

He's been talking about this since his freshman year of college. I'm still throwing the idea around in my head wondering if I _can_. I mean, I'm making progress; I had an actual conversation about it with him. But thanks to really good investments, he's got enough money saved for a down payment on a three-bedroom house in the suburbs of the city, and I don't even have enough saved up for our summer vacation. I'm the big brother, and he's prepared. It makes me feel inadequate.

Lately I feel that way around him all the time. He's the grownup here. I'm just doing grownup behaviors because it's what is expected of me. No one seems to mind too much that when I don't absolutely have to be doing responsible things, I'm off partying with my friends or something. Even Casey doesn't care, as long as I don't stay out too late or get so drunk I can't function properly. Or maybe she just doesn't expect anything more out of me.

How sad is that? It's horrible. I do whatever the hell I want, and as long as I go to work, pay my part of the rent, and pay her enough attention, no one says anything to me. There was a time that wasn't true. When Casey and I lived alone during college, I was held to a higher standard. She made me study, she made me work hard, and she made me feel good about it. But once we graduated, she started her masters and a full time job, and making sure I was responsible kind of went on the back burner. Once I stopped being pushed, I stopped feeling the need to care or try. I really ought to try harder. It's not fair to her or to me. Or to the kids, for that matter. Yes, I still call Edwin and Lizzie "the kids," which is getting sad now because they act older than I do. I've got to get my act together. What if Casey left me? She has every right, and no reason not to. I've got to clean it up here. In a lot of ways, I'm the same guy I was when I was fifteen. I'm twenty-five now. I'm way too old to expect the world to revolve around me.

Casey's POV

I'm worried about Lizzie. She's getting married. She's only twenty-two. Well, I mean, it's not like twenty-two year olds don't get married. But it just seems like so many of them end up getting divorced. Or maybe that's just what the media wants us to believe. If there's anyone who's good enough for Liz, it's Edwin. He's smart, funny, clever, sensitive, responsible, and adept. And then there's Derek. He's _some_ of those things. I thought things would be different. I thought he'd have asked me by now. I figured by the time Lizzie and Edwin got married I'd have had a few years of marital (sort-of) bliss under my belt.

I mean, I'm supposed to, right? That's how things work. I've always given Lizzie advice on everything. How can I give her advice now? I really _don't_ know anything about marriage. What's up with me? Why don't I just ask him? I'm a hip modern woman, right? I should be able to ask Derek to marry me. But I want to be proposed to. And if he isn't proposing, isn't there a reason? It's been over ten years. I'm getting a little stressed over that actually.

Still, Lizzie is getting married. And I'm planning her bachelorette party and her bridal shower, and I can't even draw off my own memories. I can't even say, "Ooh, remember when we did that? It was fun, we should do it again." I can't go, "Ooh, that was a really bad idea having so much to drink the night before the wedding; better plan it a couple of days before." Okay, so I should be able to figure that out anyway, but the point is, I'm supposed to be the experienced one, and I'm just…_not_.

When Mom married George, none of us were expecting this, the relationships between Derek and I, and Lizzie and Edwin, but it didn't take long for the idea to grow on any of us kids, and apparently, it didn't take long for it to grow on Mom and George either, though we only learned that last week. What a shocker!

You see, when Edwin told us Marti was coming for Spring Break, we decided that since we were all so busy, we should each plan to take a day off to spend with her. When the plane landed, Mom and George got off with her, so we quickly involved them in our plans. Monday night the whole family went to a Red Sox game. I'm not a sports girl, but I am a people watcher, and the obsessive Sox fans are fun to watch. So it wasn't bad. And then something happened in the fifth inning that was apparently planned down to a T. The big screen that films various things at the game went on "kiss cam." Mom and George were on one side of Derek and I, and Lizzie and Edwin on the other. Anyway, Lizzie and Edwin _kissed_. I mean, right there in front of Mom and George. It wasn't a kiss that looked the least bit sibling-y either. It could better be described as tonsil hockey. _And then_, after watching this for a couple of seconds, the only reaction Mom and George had was to kiss each other! I stared at my parents, and then at my siblings, and then at Derek, and after realizing, though I had no explanation at that point, that Mom and George were cool with it, I kissed Derek. And _Mom and George cheered!_

We later went to a diner and heard the whole story, but the game wasn't over yet. Only forty-five minutes later during the seventh inning stretch, it got ugly. Several rows in front of us, a guy got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend. Lizzie mentioned to me that she used to wish _her_ proposal had been at a hockey game. I'm sure it wasn't that she didn't like hers; it's just that she _is_ a sports girl, and I guess this is more what she pictured. I was the only one who was supposed to hear, and I think she thought she was safe, as Edwin had gone to get hot dogs for everyone, but he came back faster than she expected, and heard her. It was _not_ pretty.

"What do you mean you wish I'd proposed to you at a hockey game? What are you saying, you didn't like that night at Sophia's?"

"Edwin, that's not true and you know it."

"Is it? I heard what you just said to Casey. You know, this is insulting to her, too. And Marti, Emily, and Derek. Not just me, they all helped make that evening complete. But it wasn't good enough for you, is that it?"

"Edwin, no! It was an incredible evening. I loved it. What I meant was it would have been a fun way to be proposed to for someone like me who is in to sports."

"Lizzie, do you know how hard I worked at that night? Do you know how important it was to me for it to be perfect for you?"

"It was perfect! You're completely overreacting. I wasn't trying to insult you. Look, when I said what I said, you didn't know the whole story."

"Oh, yeah? What's the 'whole' story? Tell me, Liz, I'd really like to know what story you could possibly tell that would make this hurt any less."

"Oh, is that it? Poor Ed is feeling hurt because his fiancé had the balls to have an opinion!"

"No, I'm serious, Liz. Stop backpedaling and tell me the story."

"Okay. Well, every girl who is single has this fantasy of the perfect proposal. And mine was always at a hockey game. That's all."

"Oh, is that _all_?"

" But Ed, I wasn't trying to say yours wasn't fantastic. Every girl has a perfect proposal in mind just like she has the perfect everything about her adult life in mind. What I was going to say, had you only given me the opportunity before you started this fight, is that yours was better than perfect. You surprised me, by showing up at home when I was feeling alone. And then you proceeded to spend more time with me that weekend that I'd had in ages, as busy as we are. I needed that. I really appreciated it."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Really."

Okay, so, it's not like the worst thing in the world. Certainly nowhere near as bad as some of mine and Derek's fights. But recently, the two of them had been bickering. About everything. Whether there should be an all-vegetarian menu at the wedding. They both have a lot of vegetarian friends, and Lizzie thinks it would be rude to not serve food they can eat. But Edwin thinks no one else will feel full if they have to eat salads. Annoying stuff like that. And they won't shut up about it. Over their homework, dinner, getting ready for work. Back and forth about the stupidest little things!

It's so weird, because in this family, it's always been Derek and I that fight, and I never realized how irritating we were to the rest of the family. I remember the first time Lizzie and Edwin fought, but that wasn't irritating so much as worrisome. That was serious, and they did a lot of mature talking, and even talked to my old guidance counselor Paul. (_He_ was a champion for the four of us.) By the time that was over, they were closer than ever.

But these fights aren't even valid excuses to argue. I just want to slap some sense into them sometimes lately. I'm sure there's some logical reason for it. I know Derek and I fought a lot right before graduation as well, actually. We were stressed about being thrust into the real adult world, and scared, too. And the wedding preparations were putting all of us under a lot of stress, because it happened so fast. They ended up having to take a cancellation for the hall in late June, which was a little sooner than they intended, so they only had about four months to plan a wedding. Sure, it was a wedding with about forty guests, but still, it's a lot of preparation and they're stressed.

Can you tell I'm trying to justify the fights? Because I am. Should I talk to Lizzie about this? Something tells me I should. And something tells me it's not going to go well. She'll be home from school in about an hour. I decide I'll call Edwin and Derek and make sure they don't come home for a while. When Lizzie gets here, I follow her into her room.

"Hey, Liz. Can we talk?"

"Sure Case, what's up?"

"Well, it's about you and Edwin. You seem to be doing a lot of fighting lately."

"Casey, don't worry about it, we're fine." She says, in a tone that means 'we're finished here.'

"_Are_ you? You guys don't ever fight. And when you do it's usually serious, and it ends up serving a good purpose. This senseless bickering can't be doing you any good."

"You have no idea what this is really about, Casey, and frankly I don't see how it's any of your business."

"It _is_ my business. I have to live with you, and you're driving me crazy. What do you mean I don't know what it's really about?"

"Alright, I'll tell you, but I need you to keep this between us. You breathe a word of this to Edwin, Derek, Marti, or anyone else, and we're not sisters because it could ruin me."

"Um, okay. I won't say anything."

"The captain of the men's soccer team and I were supposed to coordinate all the soccer events this year. When it came time to coordinate the banquet, we'd gotten to be good friends. And when we were setting up for it, he kind of kissed me."

"He what?"

"Yeah, and…I kind of enjoyed it. Casey, let's face it. Edwin is the only man I've ever dated. I'd only kissed one guy before him, and now I'm marrying him. Is it so wrong to make one mistake to enjoy the only kiss I've gotten from someone who doesn't take me for granted in ten years?"

"Look, I won't tell anyone. You made one mistake, and you seem to be really miserable about it. But why do you think Edwin takes you for granted? I think he treats you with a lot of sensitivity and respect."

"Well, yeah, of course he does. But he also knows I'm going to be there whenever I'm needed for the rest of his life."

"Lizzie, I'm no expert on the subject, but that's what marriage is about. You know yeah, you're going to be there for him when he needs you, but guess what? He's going to be there for you too. He's not marrying you because he wants a support system; he's marrying you because he loves you.

"He wants to be there for you. It's something he's committing to. You're committing to him too, because you feel the same way. There's no need to feel like you're stuck, and if you _do_ feel stuck, maybe this is something you shouldn't be doing. But I've got a gut feeling you're just scared and I think you'll be fine."

"Casey, I see what you mean, but the fact remains that it happened. I can't just erase it and it's making me angry. So I get in these fights."

"No, Liz," I interrupted her. "You need to tell him. Apologize. Explain that you were having cold feet and made a bad decision. And then tell him you have been angry and miserable about it ever since. But only if that's the truth."

"But Casey! What if he leaves me? I can't handle life without him."

"Then how can you be mad that he needs you if you need him? Trust me. Tell him and apologize. Because it's going to be much worse if he finds out about it and realizes you lied."

"Yeah."

Lizzie's POV

I took Casey's advice. I told him the whole sordid story, I apologized, and then I awaited his response. He took it really well. We made up, and the senseless bickering pretty much stopped. Things felt a lot better, and everything was going well. I'm worried about something else now. I haven't had a period in 43 days.

Here we go again.


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry for the wait guys. This isn't beta'd because I really wanted to get it up, but I think it's close to as good as my other chapters, at least. And I just realized that I haven't put a disclaimer, so here's one now:

Disclaimer: Life With Derek is not mine. If it were, I'd totally have some obvious stepsibling action going on already. And season three would have started to air!

Edwin's POV

Lizzie is worrying me. She's got something going on that she won't talk about. Everyone gets cold feet; I forgave her for the kiss because I myself had had a moment or two of weakness. I didn't kiss anyone, but I sure as hell entertained the idea of running away to Vegas or something and hiding out and pretending to be single until my wave of nervousness passed. This isn't about that, I'm positive.

She walks around with this worried yet happy look on her face, and I can't figure out what it is she's so obsessed over that she can't focus on her work. I keep catching her reading and then when someone walks in the room, she hides it. Or she'll be surfing the net, and when I walk near, she closes her browser. I am going to ask her what's going on during our date tonight. We've been so busy, it'll be the first time we can sit down and just enjoy each other's presence without work or school or wedding plans getting in the way since the proposal. If it weren't for Easter break, we wouldn't even have that chance. I can't wait for May. No more school, and then one more month and no more wedding planning. Derek and Casey were going with us to dinner and then we were going to all see an old movie at this place that plays classics, but I was taking Lizzie on a boat ride in the harbor after, so hopefully she'll tell me what's up then.

I'm sitting in the living room just relaxing; gosh it's been forever since I could do that, when Casey walks in. She plops down on the couch looking about as tired as me, and I don't have to wonder for more than maybe five seconds about the curious look on her face.

"Do you know what's going on with my sister? She's been acting pretty strange recently. It's like one minute her head's in the clouds, and the next she looks like she's going to cry. What did you do to her?"

"What? I didn't do anything! I'm just as confused as you are. Maybe she's sick. She threw up her cereal yesterday. Who throws up something that mild?"

"It all adds up to something but I'm wondering what? Edwin, you don't think she's…"

"What?"

"She threw up her mild breakfast? She's acting all weird and moody? When's the last time you saw that kind of behavior?"

"Me? Never. Well, there was that one time when Vicky stayed with us after she got pregnant…wait, you mean…no! Oh my god! Casey do you really think so?"

"Well, Ed, I hate to ruin any announcements she was going to make. I really do. But, if the shoe fits, well, you know the rest."

"Hey, Case, I know it's been a long time since the four of us really got to hang out like we used to, but do you mind if we didn't come with you tonight?"

"Sure thing. Let us know how things work out."

Lizzie pregnant? I mean, wow. We were careful, you know? Of course obviously, I realize that with any preventative measure you take, there's no 100. It's not a bad thing either. Just unexpected; and I don't think I'm prepared. I don't mean financially either. I mean emotionally. I don't even know if I have to be thinking about this anyway.

Casey and Derek leave and Lizzie _finally_ gets home from work. It had been a half an hour since my conversation with Casey, but it felt like a lot longer than that. If she really was pregnant, life was going to change. A lot. And it's not that I never want kids, I do, but I'm just not ready. The idea of being responsible for a whole other life is just _scary_. And why hasn't she told me yet? I wasn't even expecting to be the cool uncle who takes his niece or nephew to the zoo and buys them toys for a while. Now, to be a dad, I don't know how I'm going to handle this.

"Hey Liz. How has your day been?"

"Good. Where are Casey and Derek? I thought we were going out with them?"

"We had a change of plans. You and I are having dinner on a boat on the harbor. That's not a problem is it?"

"Not at all, sounds great. Let me just get changed."

I picked up the food I had ordered and we went to the marina. We got in the small boat I had rented and ate silently. Both of our minds were probably on the same thing. It was time to confront her. But what should I say?

"Lizzie, I've been noticing how you've been acting kind of funny lately. From what I can see, the last time I saw behavior like yours was with Vicky. Lizzie, are you pregnant?"

"Actually, I was going to talk to you about that tonight. I finally took the test last week, and then another and I saw the doctor, so there's no denying it. Edwin, we're going to be parents."

I felt scared and relieved all at the same time. She looked just as overwhelmed as I felt. We were in this together. I held on to her, like she was stronger than me. She had better be strong; she was going to be a mom. Suddenly I had a startling thought.

"I'm so sorry Liz."

"Sorry? What for?"

"You aren't going to get to play your last month ever of college soccer."

"Ed, it's okay. I think I can handle it. I haven't really felt like playing soccer since I realized it anyway. I've been kind of preoccupied. Trying to figure out a way to tell you, and just realizing that I'm like, carrying this life inside me. "

"Still, you only have me to blame if you ever regret missing that last month of it."

"Ed, it takes two to tango. But I'm happy. Sort of worried, but ultimately happy."

"Worried? You too? God, we can't both be worried!"

"Why not?" she looked at me funny.

"Because if you're worried and I'm worried, how are we going to take care of the kid?"

She laughs, "Ed, I'm sure we'll adjust. We'll kind of have to, wont we? I'm not worried we _can't_ do it, just that, you know, we'll mess up or something. What if we end up like our parents? I don't want to be like them!"

"Lizzie! I can't believe you just said that. Our parents are great."

"Our parents are great _people_. I love them to death; they're awesome. But as _parents_, well…" she sighs as if she's well aware that as their child, she probably shouldn't be saying this, "as parents, they aren't that great. Remember back when we all lived together? It could be hell at times."

"But that's not necessarily their fault."

"You had two teenagers trying to rule the house, and a six year old, well, trying to rule the house. And then there were the two of us, who frankly, I'm surprised weren't hurt by the bidding of our siblings. It's nice; at least, that _we_ grew a backbone at some point. But the only time they stepped in and took over was when they had something to lose, or worse yet, noticed! Look, I'm not saying we didn't have loving parents, but Ed, they forgot your birthday at some point. Not exactly grade-A material."

I couldn't really believe she was saying that. The more she explained, the more I agreed, but still to actually hear the words coming out of her mouth, really surprised me.

I have to remember that there is an up side to everything. At the prospect of turning out just like them, I wasn't really seeing this up side at the moment. Lizzie looked nervous, and then I saw that this _was_ the up side. We cared. Of the seven members of the MacDonald-Venturi's, there were two who paid more attention to other people than to themselves. And those two are Lizzie and I.

"Lizzie," I said, relaxing, "I think we'll be good parents."

"You do?"

"The fact that we're so worried about turning out like them, I think that means we'll try not to. Look, we _want_ to be good parents, and yeah, I'm sure all parents do, but I think you can only learn through experience. We're just going to have to try at it."

Lizzie relaxed considerably at this. "You're right. I just, I never imagined it this way. You want to know something funny?"

"What's that?"

"Before we got together, which granted, we were only thirteen, I think I knew. I knew you and I would get together, and I knew we'd last. Because I have with you what I could never find no matter how hard I searched, and regardless of whether we _were_ together, I knew we had to be. I knew how I felt for you."

Its heartfelt confessions like those that remind me that I was one of the lucky ones. A lot of people my age aren't in relationships with staying power. Some never will be.

"So, from the time I knew that, I always imagined my adult life with you. So far it all fell exactly into place. We went off to college, supported each other, got engaged, all of it. But this, Edwin this baby isn't coming at the time I pictured." She paused as if she was trying to collect her thoughts.

"Casey has always done everything first. As a middle child, I think that's supposed to piss me off. I even have a right to be pissed, according to society's many crazy rules. And a lot of times, it does. A lot of times, I got angry that she got to get out of the house first, drive a car first, and on a somewhat weird level, kiss her stepbrother first. But those other firsts were supposed to prepare her for the first that I needed her to have. I don't know how to do this without her experience. I'm supposed to take her kids for the weekend, so she can go off with Derek and have alone time and spoil them so they drive her crazy when she gets back. What, now she's going to do it for me? I always knew I'd have her to ask questions to. And now I don't."

"I know Liz. Trust me; I'm having very similar thoughts. But honey, we can't do anything about it, and honestly, I don't want to be nervous for the rest of this kids life, or until we figure out what we're doing. I want our kid to think we are heroes, not wimps. And the more I think about it, the more I really can't wait. I mean, sure it'll be scary, it'll be hard, but think about it Liz. In nine months we'll look in his or her face, and it'll be magic. And then a few months after that, it'll roll over. And then crawl. Walk. Call you Mommy. Call me Daddy. Lizzie, we're going to be parents!" I really was very excited now. I'm not sure where the change in attitude came from, but I was embracing it.

Lizzie smiled at me. "I hadn't really thought of that. Thanks Ed."

"So, now we have an announcement to make."

"You don't make these kinds of announcements this soon."

"I was talking about the family. Casey needs official news."

"Casey?"

"She kind of helped me figure it out. Ha, and even though we thought Derek was going to be a dad first, you know he's going to embrace this uncle thing full force. He'll want to know too. And Dad and Nora are going to be grandparents. Marti will want to start making things, she's real crafty."

"Yeah. I do want to tell them. Let's go home."

"Okay." We took the boat back to the marina and hailed a cab. When we got back to the apartment, Casey and Derek were on the couch asleep. Yes, Derek, the guy who thinks no one can touch him is asleep on the couch before nine. He'd better hope I don't tell his friends about this.

As we started making noise, Casey woke up and it was obvious that she was very impatient to know if she was right.

"So what's up?" she pretended she wasn't digging for information.

"You might want to wake Mr. Cool up before I take a picture of him asleep at" I check my watch, to see just how early it was, "Eight forty-five. God, Casey, what exactly were you two up to?" She blushed furiously and pretended I didn't ask her that question. She started to shake him awake.

By this time Lizzie and I were seated on the couch across from them. I was very curious to see Derek's reaction. Casey, having decided she was probably right, proceeded to pick on Derek until he was sitting up and paying attention.

I took Lizzie's hand and squeezed it in encouragement. I expected she'd want to break the news, but she looked at me and mouthed "you do it." I don't think my excitement had worn off on her just yet. So I cleared my throat and looked at my brother and stepsister knowing how huge this was.

"We have an announcement. Lizzie is expecting."

Derek always takes a while to react. He weighs his options and you can see a myriad of emotions play across his face before he reacts. That's how I knew that although he crossed to the couch, picked Lizzie up, and spun her around while congratulating her, he wasn't as happy for us as he appeared. I'd seen the look of, I don't know, freaked out-ness, on his face. I don't know what that was about, but I do think we should talk about it.

Casey, however, was not nearly as disappointed. Soon as Derek put Lizzie down, Casey hugged her, smiled and winked at me, and squealing, took Lizzie into another room to talk.

Derek's POV

And there it is. It's concrete evidence that Ed and Liz are more grown up than me. They're going to be parents, I'm still spending more Saturday nights at the local bar with the guys watching hockey, than with Casey. This is what I was talking about before you know. As I flop down onto my bed, giving myself another of those "grow up you immature imbecile" lectures under my breath, someone knocked on the door.

I knew it was Ed, and I really wasn't in the mood to talk. I knew what he wanted to talk about, and I knew if I told him about my feelings, there was really only one way it could go. He would give me an earful about just how right I was, and that I had better shape up, and coming from my little brother, that would make me feel awful. More awful than I already do.

Maybe it's because I knew that he'd bring it up eventually, and I'd better just get it over with now, that I told him to come in. He settled into Casey's spot, so we could talk face-to-face.

"Derek, something tells me you aren't that happy for us. I'm just a little curious as to why."

"What do you mean, Ed? Isn't it kind of obvious? I had more achievements in my life at fifteen and twenty than I do now. Do you think I like being the family laugh? 'Oh, don't ask Derek, he'll forget all about it if there's a hockey game on'. When we were kids I took care of you, Ed. I'm supposed to be the strong, big brother, and instead, I'm this. Now there's tangible proof you've got it way more put together than I do. Way to go Ed, you're the best Venturi brother."

"No way, Derek. No way. I'm not letting you turn our _lives_ into a competition. And I'm not going to let you beat yourself up because you have a great life. You are doing what you always wanted. You play hockey for a living."

"Minor league" I interrupt.

"So? No one is perfect Derek, and it's time you realized that 'no one' includes you. You play hockey, you have a great girlfriend, and you have a great life. If you aren't happy with it then the only person who can _make_ you happy about it is you. Look around. Everyone is a little dissatisfied with life, but you aren't going to throw a fit like a five year old just because you didn't get your way. You want to play major league? Make it happen. Spend more time at the rink practicing so they pull you up. Whatever. Just don't come home and mope around like you think someone personally pulled one over on you, we won't let you."

I wish I could see it like that. He's right, too. I'm surprised because hearing it that way, it doesn't sound so awful. You know, when it was Casey telling me I could do it, I knew I could do it. Edwin's right. I've got nothing wrong with my life. It's pretty good. I just need to grow up a little.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I have only been to one college graduation, and it was a community college, so forgive me if anything in this chapter sounds completely wrong. I'm just going on my limited experience, which probably is nothing like a university. 

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd probably live in the country it's produced and filmed in, which I don't. At least not yet.

Lizzie's POV 

I have friends who planned their pregnancies. I have friends who are just as thrilled as they can possibly be for me. I just haven't got the "baby fever" yet. That's hard too, because I'm the one who's having the baby.

Edwin's thrilled. Casey's thrilled. I'm not sure Derek is thrilled per se, but after Edwin talked to him, he seemed pretty happy for us. Then of course, when we told the rest of the family, they were excited too.

Mom started putting together a bunch of my old favorite toys and security blankets and things, and then she actually called Abby (weird much?) to come help clean the garage and find Edwin's old stuff too. When we move into the house (Edwin made our down payment yesterday, it was very exciting), she's going to help us move in, and come stay with me for the first month after the baby is born.

When George found out about being a grandpa, he was so excited, and so cute. First he asked Edwin and I if we thought it was possible for us to move back to London so he and Mom could help out more. When we told him that really wasn't possible, he promised to send Mom out once a month, and said he'd try to be there sometimes too. We do plan to move back home someday, or at least to Toronto. Right now though, we have a great life here, and it's just not time.

Marti was funny. She said she wanted to have heard the announcement in person, so she could throw her arms around us. And then of course, every couple of weeks something hand knitted or sewn would arrive in the mail. When I told her I wanted to decorate the baby's room unconventionally, she asked me for a color scheme, and I've already received the crib clothes from her.

You'd think all their excitement would rub off on me, and on a superficial level, it sort of had. I put on a happy face, and everyone thought I was looking forward to it too. Well Edwin knows I'm not really ready for this. Being a mom is a huge responsibility, and I'm just not entirely sure I can handle it.

Then of course, I have days where I'm really not worried at all. When we went to close the deal on the house, I was walking through and when I came to the baby's room I was pretty psyched. I guess since this is where it was all going to happen, I started to really see it.

But then I'll see some mother in the park letting her kid run wild and free. And someone else's kid pushes her kid into a fountain, and then she yells at her kid for getting wet. I don't want that to happen to me. I'm positive I'm more compassionate than that, and I know I worry entirely way too much.

I don't know what's going to happen. All I know is that something's got to give. I can't keep up this worrying bit forever. My doctor even said so.

Casey's POV

When I was in high school, I used to have visions of Lizzie and I having lunch and talking about kids and all those things grown up sisters do together. I imagined us taking our families on vacation together. I have to admit, I'm kind of jealous. I have wanted what she has for a while now: a fiancé, a baby on the way, and I'm too gutless to approach the subject with Derek. Well its what I've always wanted, really, it's not a recent thing.

I mean if there's one thing he doesn't do its commitment. At least that's the idea I'm beginning to get.

Derek's POV

Casey and I fought yesterday. I'm not sure what we were even fighting about, which really, is usually how it works. We don't go at it like we used to when we were teenagers, but when it happens, I'm usually clueless as to what I've done. Even though I don't know what we were fighting about, I got the idea really quickly that what she was really upset about was not having the things Lizzie has.

I don't blame her. What she doesn't know is that when Ed and Liz get married next month, and they get fully moved into their house, I'm going to propose. Hopefully she can last until then. It's only a month, and I'm trying to keep her calm until then. I'd do it now, but I don't want Casey's excitement over being engaged to take away from Ed and Liz's big day.

What made me finally do it? Well, last month I overheard Lizzie and Edwin talking about us. Lizzie made the comment that she worried Casey would leave me. That got my attention real quick, and I listened more closely. Edwin wanted to know why she thought that. She said that she and Casey had been talking and that she thought I didn't really love her. She thought I was just comfortable. That was the catalyst. It hurt. I _did_ love her. I was shocked to think she didn't know it. The thought of Casey leaving me was what I needed, I guess. That's when I realized I had better do it and do it soon.

I'm waiting until then even though I just got word last week that barring a move to the majors, I'm being traded to another minor league team. I had to say yes when they offered it to me. I'll get higher pay in a less expensive area, and I've got a ring to pay for, not to mention I'd like to help Dad and Nora with a large part of the wedding. And of course, Lizzie and Edwin are moving out, leaving us with all of the rent. It's going to mean moving though, obviously, and I'm kind of worried about how she will take that. It won't be until later this year, so I've got time to make arrangements.

I'd actually like to stay in the area. My brother and Lizzie are here, my soon-to-be niece or nephew is here, and I wouldn't doubt Marti might come stay in their guest bedroom for college next year. She mentioned it to me, actually. Naturally, one would expect my little rebellious sister to buck tradition, but surprisingly, she's not planning on it. She told me that after four years alone with our parents, she needed her siblings.

Edwin's POV

This afternoon, I'm graduating college. Lizzie graduates tomorrow. Next week I start my job fixing computers at a large company. Lizzie is already a lighting and sound technician. What that means is that she sets up and runs the light and sound cues for plays. The great thing about her job is that it consists of three to four hour evenings, four days a week, and lasts through the run of a show. Basically, she gets to choose whether to sign up for a show, so if she wants to spend time at home, when the show she is working on now is over, she can. I would never ask her to. In fact, she wouldn't even need to, because her job is evenings, and mine is daytime. But she says she wants to. It will probably be good for her. She's so worried about not being a good mother; maybe spending a lot of time with the baby will show her she'll be great. I know she will. But she needs to know it too.

Lizzie stirred next to me and upon fully waking and kissing me, asked, "Are you ready for this, Edwin?"

"Graduation? Ready as I'll ever be."

"Yeah, me too."

"Graduating, I'm ready for. Losing Derek and Casey, not so much."

"They're only going to be across town, Ed."

"You mean Derek hasn't told you?"

"Told me what?"

"I guess he figured I'd tell. He got traded."

"To another team? How far away are they going to be?"

"About four hours."

"By car or plane?"

"Car."

"Well that's something. We better get a lot of use out of our guest room. I need Casey!"

"Oh! Don't tell her."

"She doesn't know? What is wrong with Derek? He'll tell you but not her? He _does_ expect her to go with him, doesn't he? Not that she even will."

"What, has she said something to you?"

"Well remember what I told you before? She's just kind of pissed lately that he hasn't proposed."

"Well that's why he hasn't told her. He's going to, after we get married. He doesn't want to ask her to move with him before that, in the state she's been in lately, so he's waiting."

"Smart move."

"That's what I said."

There is a knock at the bedroom door. Expecting my brother or Casey, I call "Come in."

"Hey kids."

"Mom, George!" Lizzie jumped out of bed and ran to throw her arms around our parents. Marti followed not far behind, I got out of bed, and we all exchanged greetings. Well that was just a bit awkward.

"I thought you guys wouldn't be here for another half an hour."

"We got in a little early."

"Mom, did you guys get any breakfast? I'll fix you something."

"It's okay, we got some food before we left."

"That's probably a good thing, Nora."

"Hey!"

"Sorry Liz, but since you've been pregnant your food has been awful."

"Edwin!" she slapped me.

"What? It's true!"

The family was here, and yes, they were here for graduation, but we had a lot of business to take care of while they were here. The tux shop had to get Dad's measurements, and Nora had to find a dress. Marti had to get the final adjustments on her bridesmaids dress as well. So once Lizzie and I got some breakfast and got ready, she, Marti, Nora, and Casey left to take care of business. Dad, Derek and I swung by the tux shop, and then we went to the rink Derek's team practices at. Later, we all met at home to get ready for my graduation ceremony. I had a secret I'd been hiding from all of them, well, except for Lizzie. I'd been completely shocked when I found out myself. They'd be pleasantly surprised tonight.

"Tonight we hold the graduation ceremony at Harvard University for the class of two thousand seventeen for our applied science majors."

I looked out at my family, who'd gotten pretty good seats, and I could see Lizzie grinning like a Cheshire cat. She saw me looking at her and blew me a kiss.

The speeches began and then the woman started with the medical degrees and after about forty minutes, she came to my department.

"The valedictorian in our computer science degree is Edwin Venturi."

I snuck a look at my family as I was walking onstage, and Lizzie was giggling at having kept the secret. Everyone else was asking her if she knew, looking really surprised.

Eventually, they finished calling the graduates names, and we threw our caps into the air. It was exciting, but all in all I liked my high school graduation better. Lizzie and I sat together. Everything is just better when she's beside me.

After the interminably long ceremony finally ended, we all went out for dinner. That brought me back. Our family always ate together, regardless. It didn't matter what we had going on, we ate together, all seven of us, almost every night. Even now, the four of us manage to eat together at least four times a week.

We all went back home and went to sleep early. Lizzie's graduation started at ten the next morning, so we had to get up pretty early. It had been a very long time since the seven of us had to share one bathroom, so it took a while. And of course, it didn't really help that Lizzie has been throwing up pretty much all day every day for the past month. She kept dashing in interrupting.

I had enough foresight to know a wedding would take much more preparation, _and_ enough to know Lizzie would make sure I was miserable by following that "you can't see the bride before the wedding" tradition, so I had rented the best two-bedroom, two-bathroom suite in the hotel we were getting married at for the girls to get ready. Well, Casey kind of planted the idea in my head.

All that to say, that it was so rushed this morning, I probably should have done the same for today. We were rushing out the door, and got there just in time. Lizzie went to sit with the other graduates, and we sat in the audience.

The ceremony began, and the speeches started to draw on. I could see Lizzie looking as if she didn't feel like being there. Only I saw her slip out the door a few minutes later.

I sent her a text message, "what's going on?"

"I got sick," was her reply.

A few minutes later she slipped back in, just under the wire.

"Lizzie MacDonald" called the man. She walked across the stage looking like she felt a lot better. A look of pride was on her face as she shook his hand and moved her tassel.

We followed her graduation with a picnic at the park. As we sat at the picnic table talking and laughing, my mind was on some unsettling news I'd gotten yesterday. One of the bigger stocks I'd been investing in had taken a dive, and I was just a little worried I might not recover from it too well. I'd spoken to my broker, who advised me to go ahead and sell before it got any worse, and invest what little I got in something low-risk, high-dividend. I'd taken the advice. He'd also told me that it was just a small setback, and not to worry, but it obviously wasn't working well.

"Are you still worrying about your investments?" Lizzie whispered in my ear.

"Well yeah! Shouldn't I?"

"Logan knows what he's doing. He told you not to worry, you should listen to him."

"What if he's wrong? You never know when my other big investment will go belly up."

"Ed, this is America. Major league baseball is not going belly up."

"What are you lovebirds whispering about?" Nora asked.

"Oh, uh, nothing." I was not telling our parents about any money problems. They'd just offer to help, and I didn't want to hear that unless it was desperate, which it most certainly wasn't, at least not yet.

Marti seemed to be having some issues as well. "Can I talk to you guys?"

"Yes, of course." Nora said.

"Oh, well, uh, actually I meant Lizzie and Edwin."

"Sure. What's up?" we make our way out of earshot of our parents and older siblings.

"I wanted to talk to you guys about something. See, I like it here."

"We like it here too."

"Dad and Nora are so insufferable! They are completely incapable of dealing with one teenager. Apparently I'm 'twice as powerful' without a sidekick. Or maybe it's without a distraction. I can't remember just exactly how they put it. Anyhow, I'm sick and tired of the crap I go through without a brother or sister in the house. I really miss you guys. I could probably have better timing, but Dad and Nora are putting so much pressure on me to make plans. So, basically, I was wondering if I could come stay in your guest room while I'm in college. I'd baby-sit, and pay rent."

"Marti, can you give Lizzie and I a minute alone to talk about it?"

"Sure."

"So, what do you think, Liz? I know it's a little different what with the baby coming and us being married, but Derek and Casey did it for us. It's not until next year, so we have time to prepare. And you heard her, she said she'll baby-sit."

"Let's do it."

"Are you sure?"

"Well, I mean, she'll be paying rent, and since it would be more of a courtesy than anything, seeing as we don't necessarily _need_ that money, we could save it for the future. And besides, we've been together for nearly ten years. In that time when have you and I ever lived alone? Even for a little bit? Heck, we lost our virginity on a family vacation. It just seems normal to have Derek or Casey or Marti around."

"You make a good point."

"It'll only be four years, and besides, she can go home for the summer. Not to mention, she's been saying for ages she wants to spend a year abroad. So that's three years. So why not? It might be too quiet without her."

"Alright then."

"Marti," calls Lizzie.

"So, have you guys made a decision? Because I totally respect the fact that it's a big one and you'll probably need a few days to think about it."

"No, Marti, we've made our decision already. We'd love to have you."

And that's how I ended up letting my little sister move in with Lizzie, our baby and me.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: So. This chapter kind of ran way from me. I feel only parts of it are TRULY necessary, but I started writing and it just poured out. Most of this was finished within three days of starting it, I've been adding and taking away some, but its very close to what I originally had. Originally I had a plan it was layed out before me in the beginning of the chapter and I was going to refer back to it. But this is what happened and I liked it so much, though like I said, some of it felt unecessary, that I decided to keep it. So a lot of the planned stuff will happen in the next chapter. All that to say, if this feels like a runaway chapter to you, well, it was.

Disclaimer: I suddenly got rich and bought the rights to the show. Oh, didn't you know? Penguins can survive in the desert now.

Edwin's POV

Tonight's the big night. It's the rehearsal dinner, the bachelor party, and as Derek calls it, "my last night as a free man". I say that's just how the rest of the world recognizes us now. I haven't felt like a "free man" since I went on that date with Tanya in seventh grade. Wait, that came out wrong. I meant that in the best way possible. But you got my point, right? Derek's going into this marriage thing all thumbs. I'm completely self-assured that this is going to be the best thing for everyone involved.

Lizzie's finally gotten over her fears, which we're all thankful for. Ever since she stopped being scared, she's stopped having the morning sickness. Which makes me think that in part at least, it was a nervous thing, and had nothing to do with pregnancy. I think we were all a little worried that she would throw up on her big day and I don't think she could've handled that.

Now she's happy and excited and glowing. I like to think there's a little of that thanks to me still, after all this time, and it's not all the baby. She's at four months now, that stage when she's pretty moody. Last time I made a crack about her pregnancy cooking, she holed up in our room crying, and I ended up spending sixty dollars trying to let her know I was just joking.

Gena, who is Lizzie's other bridesmaid, Emily, Casey, Nora, Marti, and Lizzie are all getting things organized down at the hotel for tomorrow. That didn't mean there weren't entirely too many people traipsing around our new house. Besides the fact that most of our furniture, some old, some new, hasn't arrived yet, there's tons of boxes and stuff sitting around. But our dining room set is here. Thanks to Nora, who works at a design firm and gets new stuff at a discount, Lizzie and I got the hand-me-down eight piece dining set we used to eat at every night for ourselves, and the piano. Nora was completely overhauling the whole downstairs. Now that the family had been through so many changes, she wanted to rework the house a little more.

Sam, Dad and Trevor were helping me move our new king sized bed in, and I had friends painting. Derek was on the phone with the man from the hotel restaurant we were having our rehearsal dinner at. He'd attempted to cancel our reservations, so I put Derek on it, knowing if anyone could sweet talk our way back in, it'd be Derek, and Lizzie would kill me if I lost them.

Right now I'd wager there are twenty people in this three-bedroom house, and there could be more. All of my close friends, and some of Derek's were pitching in so things are ready when we get back.

Honestly, I'd say the bachelor party is more of a thank you for them than anything else. The bars were picked by my brother, due to the fact that I so infrequently go to bars, I'm not entirely sure I remember how to get to any outside the neighborhood my old apartment was in. My preference for tonight would be to curl up on the couch with Lizzie and talk. But I will go and be the life of the party and probably the designated driver, because I'm sure Lizzie would send me away at midnight like a male Cinderella; so why not have some fun with the guys instead?

"Edwin, we've got to talk." Derek bellows from beneath me somewhere.

I look at Dad for confirmation that he, Sam, and Trevor don't need me.

"Go." I expected that, since we were already in the bedroom, and they knew where it was going.

"Derek, if you didn't talk that guy into keeping those reservations, Lizzie will kill me, and then I'll kill you."

"First of all, it's not my fault. Second of all, we managed to keep them, but everyone has to be ready an hour earlier. So, get on the phone with everyone, or call Lizzie and get her on it, because they won't hold them for us."

"Right. How about no."

Derek gave me a look like 'what else can you do?'

"I was thinking maybe you could call her. She's been so moody lately. She's much more rational about stuff when you approach it. And I really don't want any residual upset about this left over tomorrow. Know what I'm saying?"

He rolled his eyes skyward. "What am I getting myself into, proposing? Those MacDonald women, I swear! Okay, I'll call her."

"Edwin? Are you done down there?" Dad calls.

I head back up to see them finished. "What did you need me for, looks like you got it done."

"We just wanted to make sure this is how you wanted it." Sam said.

"It's not going to matter what I think, Lizzie will probably make me move it again when she sees it."

"Like Nora?" Dad grinned.

"She never asked."

"No but she guilted me into it with that 'bad guy coming in through the window' stuff. What I'll never understand is that Marti, Casey, and Lizzie were all alone in their rooms with a window and she never thought to have issues with that."

"Well, to be fair, none of them had basement bedrooms. Hopefully if someone were to come in their window, someone would have heard them scaling the side of the house first."

"Touché. I still threw my back out moving our bed."

"Well, I'm young. I won't throw my back out." I ducked as a shoe came flying at my face.

Derek came into the room. "So, apparently, Lizzie wasn't more rational around me like you say. She started yelling at me, for what I have no idea. Like I said, it wasn't my fault. Anyway, I made her put Casey on the phone, then I explained it to her, and she's on it."

"Good. At least it was only an hour."

"At least there's only about ten people who need to know and most of them already do."

"You realize don't you, that this means we only have about an hour before we leave, right?"

A little while later, our friends had left, and Sam, Derek, Dad and I were on our way to the hotel. Trevor stayed back to meet some delivery people for me. The first indication that tonight could turn out less than happy was Lizzie's phone call to me from the bathroom at the hotel.

"Ed, oh I needed to vent."

"Why?"

"Casey just threw a fit. Over the dumbest thing ever."

"Wait, what would she be throwing a fit for? It's not even her wedding, and she actually likes the dress she's wearing, so where's bad for her?"

"Honestly, I have no idea. It's probably got to do with stress over Derek not proposing yet, and you know, here she is helping me prepare for my wedding. I don't know. Something set her off, and she just loudly expressed her opinion over how we got the dining room table, even though she knows they're getting the living room stuff, and then stalked off in tears."

"You're kidding!"

"Nope. I don't get it either. Mom went off to talk to her, and Marti said Casey's outbursts were probably signs of an inner breakdown. Figures she'd be a psychology nut."

"Take her on a walk. She's only got a week left, surely she can stay calm for a week."

"Well maybe, if she actually knew it was only a week. She has got to be having some scene stealing issues. I mean really, you know, you're the one who plays the piano, and regardless of whether we were ready for it right now, we've always expressed an interest in having a large family. The dining room furniture was a better fit for us anyway."

"She's just jealous because our stuff looks better."

"Edwin!"

"Well, its true. But anyway. Emily's there, she can help. We're on our way. You know she hates being upset in front of Derek when he didn't start something. It leaves no room for further upset."

"Ha! Sadly, you're right. I'd forgotten how useful your observant nature can be."

So, Casey is in a mood. Already, before it even gets started. Straight out of the starting blocks and things are already in a less than cheery vein. We get to the hotel and apparently she's been consoled enough to chill out. Her eyes are a little red, but she's mostly acting like the big sister of the bride ought to.

The practice ceremony (which, honestly, is a lot about staging, much like that of a play. At least, that's what Lizzie tells me), begins and ends, and then we make our way to the restaurant. Derek is nagging me to stay behind; he wants to talk to Sam and I. But as I let the girls get ahead of me so he can say his piece I see Casey heading toward the bathroom. I make an excuse and follow her. After knocking on the door with no answer, Marti appears out of nowhere. She is amazingly good at that, too good. She once walked in on a half naked Lizzie and I. Guess that games closet wasn't as off limits to the rest of the family as we thought it was. She says, "there's a lounge in there, before the bathroom. You should go in. Someone should corner her."

I walk in to what is possibly the pinkest room designed for females over the age of four, and suddenly I have a memory of our own bathroom when the girls tried to girl-ify the house. She is slumped on a chair in the corner. She's not crying, but she's close, and I wonder what it was I thought I should say to her. I knew she needed to talk, but what could I say?

"Casey?"

"Edwin, this is a ladies room."

"I know."

"So get out."

"I thought you might need to talk to someone."

"Edwin, no offense, but you just remind me of why I'm upset."

"This wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that I'm getting married tomorrow then, would it?"

"Maybe. Don't drag me out of here. I can't look at him anymore. I don't want to make a scene. If I'm forced to sit there and make pleasantries with Sam and Emily over dinner as Derek's girlfriend, just like old times, when I can't possibly deal with him, it'll only result in a scene. So leave me here. Tell them I ate some bad food at lunch."

After sitting on the chair next to hers and taking her hands to let her know I was paying attention, rather than on some ridiculous mission for Nora or Lizzie, I say "Casey, in not being there, it's still a scene. It's just not a loud one. Still obnoxious as hell, just like you and Derek always are."

"Just let me have a minute to put my game face on then."

"Lizzie tells me you don't think he loves you anymore."

"Maybe he never did."

"Casey, if he didn't love you why would he still be with you after ten years?"

"He's comfortable. It's convenient. I pay rent. I'm good in bed. I'm just not worth his love."

"But you're wrong." How did I convince her everything would be fine without telling her he was going to propose?

"Then why is he so afraid of committing to me?"

"Just out of curiosity, what makes you think he isn't committed? What makes you think you have to have a wedding ring to be committed?"

"Edwin, please. I know you're trying to get me to look at it from another view, but look at it from mine. Before Derek was with me he was the biggest player in town. He's a hockey player and he travels. For all I know he takes that hockey player advantage and picks up bar skanks all the time when he leaves. He's gone for three days at a time every week and a half. That leaves him plenty of time for that. No ring on his finger AND no tan line from taking off said ring? He can get all the play he wants and I'll never know. Not until some woman shows up on my doorstep claiming he fathered her child."

"God, woman, your life is not Jerry Springer. No wonder you're so upset! Listen to me. Worst case scenario is the fastest way to get depressed, so don't do it. Derek was a player before you because he was _fifteen_! Tell me, does every fifteen year old player stay a player when he's twenty six?"

"No."

"Does Derek ignore you when he comes home? Or do you pretty much jump straight into bed? And don't lie to me, because I've noticed the bedsprings and they are never quiet when he comes home. If he was out having sex with random women when he's traveling, do you really think he'd be so eager to have you again? Don't you notice him staring when you're doing the most mundane things like writing a paper, organizing your cd's, tying your shoelace? He still can't take his eyes off you. The man is still head over heels in love with you. I would know this stuff, he's my brother."

"Really?"

"Yeah. When did this really start to bother you?"

"Well, honestly, when you guys got engaged."

"Did it ever occur to you that once I beat him to the punch, maybe he wanted to let everything be about Liz and I until our wedding was over? Just to be a nice big brother?"

"No. Derek never lets the focus be about someone else but him."

"Trust me, Case, this time he is. For Liz and me. So, maybe you could just chill out for a little while more. It'll all work out in the end."

"Well, even if it doesn't, I'm sorry. I should have controlled my emotions. Thanks for talking to me, Edwin."

"Let's go. This room is too pink for me."

When we entered the restaurant, which had a small dance floor, I noticed Lizzie and Derek sharing a dance and engaging in an animated conversation. I wondered briefly what they were so passionately speaking about, and then turned my attention to those who sought it out.

Sam was sharing with Emily and me what Derek had spoken to him about earlier. The plan had been for Sam, Emily, Trevor, and Sam's girlfriend Delia to stay for the week after the wedding. Derek wanted Sam and I to let everyone know that once Liz and I were off to our honeymoon, all bets were off. Meaning, you really couldn't be sure when Casey was going to blow. And between the four houseguests, hopefully they could keep things calm and relaxed until the two of us got back, when Casey would have a spotlight moment.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I apologize profusely for not updating this sooner. I had certain things that I wanted to hit in this chapter, and somehow I was having trouble getting it to flow. I still am not completely satisfied with it, and there is one part I kind of wish I had left out, but I left it, so I hope it doesn't suck. Let me know if you think it was good. Thanks!

Disclaimer: If it were mine, the timeline would make sense. Because I'm picky that way. Edwin couldn't have been ten in season one and almost thirteen in season two, though no one else had a birthday (Marti's "Like I'm six!" line was adorable, but unbelievable) and it had only been "a few months" since the wedding. And Derek the player wouldn't have had a LONGER relationship than Casey the steady one. Sorry, I, like some other fans are kind of bothered by that, please ignore my rant. The point is, its not mine, people.

Lizzie's POV

Casey had the oddest conversation with me this morning. She asked me if something I hadn't planned happened, would it bother me. I questioned what she meant. She didn't want to talk after that, so I said I didn't want anything embarrassing to happen. I'm not one of those super controlling brides, if something unplanned happens, I can roll with it. But yeah, that was weird. Mom walked in from the other room, dressed in a slate blue dress.

"So did you like my choice?"

"You look great, Mom."

"Hey Liz, help me adjust my boobs."

"Casey, honey, your chest looks fine."

"Maybe so Mom, but if I'm getting this dressed up I'm going to use it to its best advantage. Its kind of a last ditch effort to remind Derek what he has."

"So you're showing off your chest? How very feminist of you, Casey."

"Desperate times call for desperate un-feminist measures, mom."

"Whatever. Where's Marti?"

"I heard Sam caught her and Dimmy hiding in a corner somewhere making out."

"No, it wasn't Dimmy she got caught with, it was Dimmy who caught her with Sam's little brother, and got mad."

"Oh that's right. Well she better hurry and patch things up with him because she's supposed to be getting ready."

"Here she is."

"What's the matter, Marti?"

"I don't think Dimmy is going to talk to me for a while, which sucks, because we're sitting together on the plane home."

"Did he really catch you making out with Alan?"

"Yeah, so? It's not like he had any sort of claim on me. We're best friends, not lovers."

"Edwin and I were best friends."

"Yeah, but you and Edwin were best friends because you were avoiding being something more, pretty much solely based on circumstance."

"But you and Dimmy…"

"Are just friends. Why does everyone insist on my liking Dimmy? I just don't understand."

"Well I can't speak for everyone else, but as someone who is madly in love, I can see the same in you. Why avoid it?"

"Well I don't see it. I'm not avoiding anything, except Dimmy himself. It's exactly what everyone wants. I want to find my own love life. I want to meet someone who is mysterious. I want someone who my family doesn't know everything about. I want someone who I didn't share everything with, including three flu's and a case of the measles."

"So you turn to _Sam's_ little brother?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I wouldn't call Alan mysterious, and we know a lot about him, too. True, you didn't share sick germs, but you shared a lot."

"Have you ever thought about butting out? This is no more your business than it is Dimmy's."

"Sorry!"

I still think she isn't telling us something.

Casey, perfectionist that she is, takes two hours to fix my hair. Meanwhile, a mini issue had been going on downstairs when Derek's shoes decided to fall apart. He ran to the nearest department store and bought some new ones, and then he confessed that he'd been wearing those same shoes since Mom and George's wedding to every dressy event. I have absolutely no trouble believing that either.

Also, after her fight with Dimmy, and then her fight with us, Marti hurried into her dress and then disappeared. Edwin found her charming cocktails from one of his friends down at the bar. She wasn't apologetic about it at all, though Edwin gave her a speech about respecting the two of us and waiting at least until after the ceremony to bum alcoholic beverages from the over twenty-one's, because a drunken bridesmaid is the last thing we need.

Casey was flipping out over these events, but I was laughing. It wouldn't be a MacDonald-Venturi wedding without a few mishaps. Or hormonal females apparently, of which there were several.

Speaking of which, there _was_ one thing stressing me out. Vicky was here, obviously, and Casey was jealous. No one can figure out why. Vicky is engaged and hasn't even said more than two words to Derek. The kiss in the laundry room was eleven years ago, and Derek destroyed the videotape of it long ago, out of respect for Casey. Edwin told me about his conversation with her yesterday and I'm trying to keep her mind off Derek entirely. She isn't acting out like usual, out of respect for me, which is good. When she internalizes, though, she is a little snippy.

All in all, it was a rather eventful morning. As I put on my earrings and stepped into my dress, Derek knocked on the door and asked to come in. I was worried this had to do with Casey's running out ten minutes ago to "get some water", thinking she'd made a scene, but it didn't. He asked everyone else to leave, and when they were gone he spoke.

"You know, if I were just your stepbrother, I'd have a little to say. If you were just marrying my brother, I'd have a little to say. But as it is, both apply. Unfortunately, I'm not very good with words, so where do I start? He's a great guy. But I don't have to tell you that. He loves you, he respects you, and he'll be a great dad. You'll be a great mom. You guys will be happy. I know that because you were always the happy ones. Whenever you weren't it always had to do with the rest of us, almost never each other. And if he ever does something to make you unhappy, you come to me. I'll set him straight. And if you for some reason just need a break, you can always come stay with Casey and me. I'm probably leaving something out, but anyway. Now get out there and make me proud."

I grinned and as he hugged me, I couldn't resist saying, "figures you'd end your speech with a sports style pep talk. You couldn't get too mushy, huh?"

"You can never tell anyone I told you all of that. They might think I'm…"

"You're what?"

"So….so…soft."

It's been ten years, and sometimes I don't think Derek has changed a bit.

Minutes later, I was a nervous wreck. I was standing outside the ballroom waiting for the music to start. The familiar notes began to play. Gena began to walk down the aisle. Then Marti, followed by Casey and my flower girl. I followed, and when I got to the front, the ceremony took off. About five minutes in, some music started to play that I wasn't expecting. Was this what Casey was talking about? But those notes were familiar. It was one of my favorite songs, _I'll Cover You_ from Rent. What was going on? Seconds into the song _Edwin_ started to sing, and Casey joined in when needed.

Live in my house

I'll be your shelter

Just pay me back

With one thousand kisses

Be my lover

And I'll cover you

Open your door

I'll be your tenant

Don't got much baggage to lay at your feet

But sweet kisses I've got to spare

I'll be there and I'll cover you

Oh I think they meant it

When they said you can't buy love

Now I know you can rent it

A new lease you are my love

On life, all my life

I've longed to discover

Something as true as this is, yeah

So with a thousand sweet kisses

If you're cold and you're lonely

(I'll cover you)

With a thousand sweet kisses

You've got one nickel only

(I'll cover you)

With a thousand sweet kisses

When you're worn out and tired

(I'll cover you)

With a thousand sweet kisses

When your heart has expired

Oh lover, I'll cover you

(Yeah, yeah, yeah)

Oh lover, I'll cover you

I'll cover you, oh

By the end of the song, my jaw had recovered from the shock, my smile was back, and tears of happiness were threatening to make their way out of my eyes. This song was perfect for a wedding. And perfect for us.

Now we were moving on to the vows. We held hands. Edwin and I had each written our own, and he started his. First the preacher explained our reasons for writing our own.

"Edwin wrote his vows because the traditional ones, while even though he hopes husbands and wives truly mean them, are a bit like a national anthem. They become so overused that they lose some of their meaning. In that same way that marriage today seems to have lost some of its meaning. He also feels they don't say things that are an integral part of his relationship with Lizzie. She feels she wanted to express her own feelings, and to do that, she needed to write them down her own way."

"Lizzie, today I commit to you, before our family and friends, to hold you in the highest respect. I promise that I will always put your needs first. I will make decisions based on how they affect my family, even if what is best for all of us could be not so good for me. I promise to always act on love, even if I'm angry. I love you."

We'd decided to keep our vows from each other until now, and with something so sweet, the tears that were threatening to fall earlier were now cascading down my face. We'd promised to keep it short, because no one in our family had a very long attention span, and yet with so few words, he'd said a lot. It was my turn now, and I wiped my eyes and cleared my throat.

"Edwin, marriage is about commitment. My commitment to you is to always put you before anything else in my life. You and I have always been a team. We've teamed up since the day we met. I commit to making sure that team stays strong because it's the core of who we are. I promise that when hardships come our way to trust that we will stay strong, because doubt is the first step in a crumbling wall. I promise to put my family's needs before my own. I love you."

When I started talking about being a team, I noticed him squeezing my hand, and he also seemed to have a bit of a tear in his eye. As the ceremony wrapped up, the priest said, "you may kiss the bride", and I laughed a little, because we'd had endless discussions over this moment. Derek's PDA fear ran in the family, and eventually Edwin decided this was a good reason to make an exception.

A few minutes later, the party started up. Casey and I had once discussed the fact that some of this traditional stuff was a little awkward for children with more than two parents. Maybe I'd _rather_ share my father daughter dance with George, while it'd be the right thing to do to share it with my father. And it'd be more than a little awkward on either of them no matter which choice I made. In the end, I decided the best thing to do would be to skip all that, and just have a dance with Edwin (and even that was at the prodding of Casey, I'm not a "spotlight" kind of girl). So we shared our dance, and then Derek toasted us. Of course, his short speech was nowhere as nice as the one this morning, but that was fine with me.

The party went quickly, and soon I was throwing my bouquet and Edwin and I were leaving. Things had gone well. Derek had, at my request, been at his absolute worst: fawning and bumbling over my sister as much as he was wont to do in public. He brought her drinks, asked her to dance _cordially_, held whispered conversations with her, and even bent his own PDA rule by whisking her off to a hidden corner for a passionate moment. Marti and I couldn't stop giggling at the way he was treating her, but I'd only asked him to do it to keep her from running off and hiding again. I could tell it had worked, too. Whether or not Casey thought her cleavage had anything to do with it, she had seemed placated in a way she hadn't been during my entire engagement. I left Derek with the advice to keep it up. I left Emily promising to keep her occupied for the week.

Once we said all our goodbyes, we were upstairs changing, and then in the taxi to the airport. Exhausted, I collapsed onto Ed. This day was entirely too long. Twenty minutes later, he was shaking me awake so we could get out. Now we were going through all the airport mess to board a plane to New York. And even though I had sworn to myself I would forget all about the Casey/Derek drama and let Emily deal with it for the week, I couldn't help but find myself hoping Derek's behavior and Emily's distractions could keep her at bay until we got back.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I feel so awful about how long its been since an update. This chapter is really long; hopefully that helps some. This chapter just kept getting out of hand and I kept trying to control it. Hopefully you like what you read, because I thought it was going a totally different way, honestly. I like how it turned out, though. So here you are.

Disclaimer: Along with Life With Derek, I _also_ do not own Lifetime, Monopoly, Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, E! True Hollywood Story, or Wayne Gretky. I used a lot of entertainment references in this chapter, didn't I?

Sam's POV 

I know that as the ex, it's rude to say this, but I don't envy Derek right now at all. I realize that Casey is upset with what seems like a sound reason, as it seems she's expecting him to leave her, but the drama that ensues is just something I am glad I'm not a part of. I can't wait for Edwin and Lizzie to get back from their honeymoon, so she will chill. This week has been just pathetic so far. First, when they left, we stayed long enough to get everything cleaned up. With Casey wearing her proverbial "super organizational" hat, things went quickly.

Afterward the family, mine and Emily's brothers, and the four of us who were staying for the week went out for dinner. Casey, still apparently socially conscious of her "situation", made her excuses to go to the restroom several times. Marti or Emily would always follow, and bring her back within five or six minutes. Marti seemed to be having a less awkward time of it than Casey, and quite frankly, her love triangle situation is a lot more uncomfortable. But then, Marti's got that talent of making awkward situations seem like a blast. I really don't know how she does it.

Sunday was the only day both Derek and Casey would be with us all day, because they had to work. Casey was determined to be hostess extraordinaire, and made us all a huge spread for breakfast. Then it was off to the hotel to see off the remaining guests, which consisted of their parents, Marti, Dimmy, and Alan. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall in Dimmy and Alan's room last night. I heard from Nora, whose room was next to theirs, that some wrestling of the jealous friend type had been heard, and having been there as a teen, I was wondering how that would turn out. After we dropped them off at the airport, the girls went shopping, and Derek and Trevor and I caught some sports highlights and pre-game predictions. It was later, when we met up for a late lunch, that I wondered if Casey could make it to Friday.

Emily's POV

Things had been going well. That is, until lunch on Sunday. When asked about what was going on in his life, Trevor responded that he was looking forward to his impending wedding. After I had learned of Casey's reaction to Lizzie's own engagement, I swore not to tell her, but I guess I forgot to tell Trevor. Casey's reaction was to say, "wow, wedding fever must be in the air", and that's pretty much when it started to get awkward. For the rest of the entire day. We finished lunch with Derek and I attempting to carry the conversation away from topics revolving around weddings, Casey all the while shooting daggers at me for hiding this from her. I guess it _was _a bad move not telling her. Now she's going to think I didn't tell her because she _should _be worried about something, even though she shouldn't. Not to mention, the conversation was pretty stilted without Casey's cheerful lighthearted banter, which had dwindled to almost no speaking at all at Trevor's comment.

Lunch _finally_ ended, and then we went back to Casey and Derek's apartment. Casey's perfect hostess attitude had been replaced with a need to hole up alone in her room, which is what she did as soon as we got there. The rest of us sat in the dining room and Derek wondered if maybe he shouldn't wait until Lizzie and Edwin got back to propose. No, he couldn't do that; Lizzie would be very disappointed. The whole thing had been planned so she could be there. He could use the money he got from an endorsement to take Casey to New York so Lizzie and Edwin could be there. No, he couldn't interrupt their honeymoon. He'd just have to wait it out. Sam and Trevor threw out some suggestions, none of them good enough to work. Then it hit me.

"Delia and I could take Casey to a male strip club."

Outrage from the three men at the table. Now I had to explain myself.

"Think about it. I'll listen to whatever rant Casey chooses to give me about how Derek doesn't care, or whatever. Then I'll say maybe she should pretend to be single again for a night, so tomorrow night the three of us girls will go out, have some fun. It'll take a little convincing, but not much, and she'll go. We will get there, and she'll be so out of her element, so uncomfortable, that she'll come home early. I'd be willing to bet we'd only be there ten, fifteen minutes, tops. This is Casey we're talking about here. It wouldn't make sense for Derek to be romantic, what with Sam and Trevor there. But she'll go to hole up in her room again, and there will be candles, rose petals, whatever totally cliché crap you have to do while we're gone. She'll remember Derek's behavior at the wedding and, maybe, just maybe, she'll calm down until Friday."

"That's brilliant! Give her what she thinks she wants, a night of freedom, she realizes she's still miserable. She comes home expecting to stay miserable, and I've been secretly romantic. It just might work." "Yeah, and we'll get out of your guys way." "But what about today?" 

"Let her read for the afternoon. We're going to a musical tonight. Casey loves it; it's actually the show Lizzie works on. She will cheer right up when she sees the comedy. And there's no love story involved, so no reason to worry about her comparing herself to anyone. We all know what happens when she does that!"

"Yeah, wonder if you could temporarily get Lifetime removed from your cable lineup?"

"Ha. I wish!"

"But what if she doesn't feel uncomfortable?"

"Even better. She'll come home and see what you've done and feel guilty."

So it was settled. We pulled out a game of Monopoly, and actually managed to get Casey to join us. Of course, not only did she try to win, she tried to make Derek lose. It was like we were back in high school. Back when they were denying their feelings for each other, and everything turned into a competition.

When the game was over, Casey wanted to talk to me privately, so we headed down to the coffee shop on her street. When we got away from the others, the first thing out of her mouth was "when?"

"When what?"

"When is he breaking up with me?"

"He's not. But why would I even know something like that?"

"I heard you guys having some sort of powwow while I was reading this afternoon. I'm sure he was telling you to act like it's no big deal so I'll cause less of a scene. Well it wont work."

"Casey, trust me on this. Derek is really happy with you."

"Happy, yeah. Satisfied? No."

"Case, tell me why you always constantly agonize over the worst possible situation. We've been best friends since you moved in next door to me, and you have _always_ done this."

"Look, I can tell something is bad between us. I can't talk to him about it. He'll get angry and leave me. I mean, I know he's going to anyway, but if we part company as friends it'll be a lot less awkward on the rest of the family."

I figured at this point, putting the plan into action was the only way to stop the conversation, as my keeping secret skills aren't much better than they were in high school. If she kept this annoying complaining up, I'd end up telling her about Friday, and no one needs that.

"So, how about this. If you really think he's going to leave you, then pretend you're single again. Come out with Delia and I and we'll have a girl's night out. Maybe if you have fun, you'll realize being single isn't so bad."

"Hmm. Yeah. That sounds okay. Let's do it."

"Okay. So, I want to apologize. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Trevor and I. Lizzie told me you were upset so much by her engagement, that I decided I wouldn't tell you. I guess I just forgot to tell him not to mention it."

"So you were never going to tell me? We talk all the time, we're still best friends, unlike most people in high school. My best friend hides that she's engaged. What, were you not going to invite me to your wedding, too?"

"No, Case! It's not like that I just…"

What did I say? I was just waiting until the proposal. But if I don't tell her that, what is she going to think? This is why Derek and I kept steering the conversation away from weddings earlier. It just makes things a lot easier.

"I'm not getting married until the end of next year, I figured maybe I'd let you get used to Lizzie and Edwin being married and then I'd tell you. I was only thinking of your feelings."

"Well, I was hurt. But I see that you were trying to protect me from myself, which needs to be done sometimes. We all know I don't adjust well. I'm not adjusting well to the thought of not having Derek anymore. And maybe that's because I have a tiny piece of hope that he isn't going to leave me."

"He's _not_ going to leave you! Anyway, I'm really sorry."

"It's okay. Let's go meet up with everyone for tonight."

Lizzie's POV

I know I said that if Derek was going to propose in front of their friends, that I wanted to be there too. I guess maybe I didn't realize that Casey was so high strung. And maybe that's my fault. I've lived with her for a total of nineteen years. I know all her issues and behavior, and I really should have seen this coming. We've been in New York for barely over a day, and already I've gotten two emails from Derek, plus one each from Emily and Sam. I don't know why they bothered emailing me, unless they think she's going to get to the point that she leaves him. I mean if she did that I'd step in and try to fix it, what little I can do from here anyway. And I guess emails are a lot less intrusive. They weren't calling or anything. I did _choose_ to check my email. Edwin thinks it's hilarious.

We had dinner with dad last night, because I feel kind of guilty about the fact that we go home a lot more than we see him. Not that we go home a lot. Just on Christmas, and then there was the weekend Ed proposed, and we're going for Mom's big fiftieth birthday bash soon. We go to Dad's on Thanksgiving. Mom and George aren't off, since Thanksgiving is a month earlier in Canada. I think if I were Dad that would make me feel kind of like a victim of circumstance, we come see him since everyone is off. It's not like that. Its just Christmas is a routine we didn't want to change. We've had Christmas together since Mom and George got married. It's a great time and I couldn't bear to skip a year. And there's also the fact that Casey and I didn't want to spend Christmas away from Edwin and Derek. This is the first year we've actually been public to the family. Dad never thought it was weird that Derek and Edwin came to Thanksgiving, though. But no one has ever denied that we were a twisted set of siblings, whether they knew we were together or not.

Anyway, part of what Edwin thought was so funny was Dad. I was telling him about the first email from Derek, the one where he told me about Trevor breaking the news and he and Emily doing damage control. He was like "why would Casey be upset that her best friend is engaged?" I explained to him about her behavior during the last few months.

"Well that I can understand. Her little sister getting married first. Heck, I studied that in school, thanks to Shakespeare. Taming of the Shrew, anyone? But Emily is the same age as she is, _or_ her sister."

"But Emily is her best friend, and it was the timing."

I'm not entirely sure he quite got it. Dad's girlfriend Claire started asking me about the baby and said she'd explain it to him later.

Edwin's POV

I didn't mind that Derek, Emily and Sam were emailing us. The situation was funny, and of course, it definitely lightened the mood after this afternoon's incident. I guess we'd done too much walking out in the heat, because Lizzie fainted. It was only for a few minutes, and when she came to I got her to a doctor. He gave her some water and said she'd be fine and to keep her out of the afternoon sun. Still, it made me a little nervous. So that's when we decided to stop by her Dad's early. When we got there it was awkward because Claire was there but Dennis wasn't. So she decided to check her email, because we just didn't know Claire very well. That's when she found email from Casey. Casey was telling her about Emily's girl's night out plan. Telling her that she was trying out the single life for a night. Lizzie's responses to the others had basically been "keep working at it". To Casey she said "sounds great Case, but if you have fun, please don't give Derek the old heave ho until you and I can talk about it in person". I personally thought it was a brilliant response, but then Derek breached the non-intrusive email and called us during dinner.

Derek's POV

I know what you're thinking. I should know better than to interrupt my brother and my pregnant stepsister on their honeymoon, during their dinner with my future father in law. There are so many reasons why it's a bad idea right there in the sentence. Brother, honeymoon. Pregnant stepsister. During dinner. Future father in law. I mean, it's obviously a bad idea. But Casey checked her email with her phone during intermission, and showed Emily, who told me what Lizzie said. Which sounded good on the whole "wait until we can talk about" level. But on the whole "don't leave Derek" level I was really pissed. I mean, I know she thinks I'm going to leave her, but I don't want her getting the idea to leave me. I had to give Lizzie a piece of my mind.

Lizzie's POV

We'd finished our salads and were waiting on our main courses. My cell rang and obviously I was going to ignore it. I got it out to silence it, and that's when I saw the caller ID.

"It's Derek."

"Why is he calling?"

"I'll ask." I answer. "Derek? Why are you calling?"

"Why? That's the question I should be asking you. Why did you give Casey the idea to break up with me?"

"What? She didn't!"

"No. She didn't. But you brought the idea up to her. And she seemed really happy with your response.

All 'I'm so glad Lizzie wants to talk, talking always helps me'. Yeah Lizzie wants to talk about dumping Derek, what's that about?"

"Derek, all I meant was that I didn't want her to do anything rash before I got there. I was trying to put off the inevitable blow up until the proposal, exactly like you're trying to. And exactly like Emily, Sam and Trevor, who I hear feels like crap after his little accidental confession yesterday. Trust me, Casey is not thinking of leaving you, it's just to make her feel like she has some control. Look, just continue with the plan. Emily told me you were planning to be romantic. Keep it up. And if you want some advice on what to do until then, all I can tell you is to make her feel important to you. Say, tell her you want to buy a car with her. She'll be reassured. Because you wouldn't make an offer like that if you were going to leave."

"Liz, I don't need to buy another new car, we just paid our other one off."

"Derek, you don't actually have to buy a new car. Just think of something like that that'll make her feel secure."

"And how does buying a car help Casey feel secure again?"

"Derek, stay with me. Say we're dating. Would I ask you to make an expensive investment like a car payment each month with me and then leave?"

"Not unless you want to be an extortionist insensitive jerk."

"Exactly. And even though you can be an insensitive jerk at times, her words, not mine, you aren't _that_ mean."

"Right. Well considering buying a car would be pretty impractical right now, you're going to have to come up with something else."

"Me? Derek, I'm on my honeymoon. I'm at dinner, which by the way has arrived now. I'm getting off the phone. Take what you can from what I told you but my shrimp ravioli is getting cold, and my dinner companions are getting insulted."

"Okay, fine. But if she leaves me it's on your head."

I hung up before he guilted me into an hour-long conversation about Casey-chilling techniques. When we'd moved into the apartment, it had started right back up, Ed and I doing the negotiating for whatever Casey and Derek's issue-of-the-week was. In place of the games closet, was a rooftop deck. I'd told Derek he was going to have to learn to negotiate without a middleman, and that interrupting my honeymoon would be unacceptable, but did he listen? Not surprisingly, no, he didn't. I normally wouldn't have even left my phone on, but my doctor told me I should, in case the latest round of tests showed anything unusual.

Derek's POV

I'd attempted to use Lizzie's advice. It was good really, just not something I could do at the moment. But I was working on tomorrow night. I figured the clichés, a.k.a. champagne, rose petals, chocolate covered strawberries, would not show creativity, which would only make me look like I was trying to get myself out of trouble. I had to think past that and do something that would impress Casey. Not exactly easy. So I did something a little bad. I got Edwin to crack Casey's password. Okay, so it's not like I haven't done it before. But it had been years, so I'm sure he thought I was past that by now.

I went on her blog to her private entries to see if I could learn about everything she's been hiding the last few months. Since she's decided I'm leaving, though I really don't know what ever originally gave her the idea, she's stopped being the "share your feelings queen". I had kind of lost touch with the part of her that was like that. It bothered me. The fact that I even had to spy on her personal writings, is sad.

What I found out shocked me. She's not the strong girl she pretends to be. After what I read, it's no wonder she's so jaded. Her boss is pressuring her to behave unethically. He wants her to strip for him. It's insane. I just can't believe she would put up with it. She refuses to do it obviously, and he refuses to raise or promote her. She even took a pay cut. He calls her a whore and she just takes it. I wondered what could possibly make her want to stay in a working environment like that anyway. Probably he was giving her some sort of "you'll never work in this town again" line and it was working.

I wanted to confront her, _make_ her quit, although I knew she'd know I read her private entries. Who the hell cares, though, right? I wonder if he did that to other women he worked with. With my day off, I decided to do a little research. I told Sam what I'd done. He was about to lecture me about reading private writings. I told him just exactly _what_ I'd read, and he was as shocked and upset as I was. He suggested I pay Casey a little visit and watch and see what I could find out. I did, and it was as expected.

Casey, who had an actual office, as opposed to a cubicle, was tense. When I entered the small room surrounded with windows, she had her back to me. I cleared my throat and she said, "don't worry, I'm on it, I'll have it done in ten minutes."

"Case?"

"Derek? What are you doing here? Do you want me to get in trouble?"

"Actually, yes."

"What?"

Here's where I knew I had her. True, I read her journal. But if I made a big deal out of what I'd read, she'd realize it was important to me that she get out. And it was severely important. But I had to make sure she knew that, treading on such thin ice already.

"Honestly, I want to you to quit."

"But why?"

"Well, you haven't been talking much lately. You used to talk about your feelings all the time. I was really worried. So I figured out your password and read your blog. Why didn't you tell me what was going on? Why did you put up with it? Why haven't you turned him in?"

"Why didn't I tell you? I thought you just didn't care anymore."

"Casey, I know you feel the need to constantly compare your relationship with other people's, but I care about you more than anything. Just because Edwin and Lizzie are on their honeymoon doesn't have anything to do with us. It's pretty apparent to me that you think it does. I want what's best for you, and honey, this whole work situation is definitely not best."

"I didn't have much choice. He is my boss; he has that held over my head. If I quit, he can keep me from getting a new job."

"Casey, there are laws keeping behavior like this from going on in the workplace. Both your dad and your stepdad are lawyers. Between the two of them, you could have this man so tied up in litigation, he'd get you the best job in the country to keep word from getting out."

"Right, because who wants to tell their father, or stepfather, that they're being sexually harassed at work? Hell, I didn't want to tell you." She hisses in a loud whisper.

"You obviously never tell me anything anymore. But that's no excuse to put up with this shit."

"Derek, please."

"No, Casey, I understand that you are in a situation that no one likes talking about. But those are the kinds that can only hurt you if you don't talk about it. Tell me exactly what is going on."

"I don't think this is the best time, or place. Meet me at the café a block over at one. And get us a table where others can't easily hear us."

As I headed out I noticed a couple of other women who seemed as tense and unnerved as Casey had been lately. Were they victims?

Three hours later we were ordering lunch. Once she realized I was concerned, it was like turning on a spigot. The words just poured out. She talked about how when her boss had been promoted to his current level, and he'd gone from an equal level to her to a higher one, he'd begun harassing her. Again I asked her why she didn't quit. Her answer included all the expected suspects. Like she'd already told me, he told her he would keep her from getting a new job. She told me she'd been searching under the radar, but everything she found included a rather large pay cut. And finally, she wasn't ready to admit everything that had been going on for the last year. She was positive it would only be harder if she told someone. So she stayed, and she kept quiet, and she refused to acquiesce to his demands, and she suffered.

As I was thinking of the best suggestion to make, I remembered Lizzie's advice about couples and car buying, and suddenly I knew how to fix her problem and ours. I also knew it was now time to tell her about my trade and my raise.

"So quit."

"I can't afford to quit."

"_We_ can afford for you to quit. And you really can't stay in a job you hate, especially not when you're being treated so bad. Also not when we're moving."

"What do you mean, moving?"

"Well, I've been traded to a better team, and I got a fifteen percent raise."

"And _we_ can afford for me to quit, and _we're_ moving?"

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"No. In fact, I'm not sure how I feel right now, but it's pretty good."

"So don't go back."

"Don't go back where?"

"To work. Go gather your things and tell your boss you won't be coming back."

"Now?"

"Yes, now. Why not?"

"Because I'm about three weeks from finishing the biggest project I've ever pulled off, which will make me eligible for a better job elsewhere. I've been dealing with this for almost a year, three more weeks is nothing. And he'll be on a business trip for almost two of them. I'll be on a business trip for one of them. There's really only one week of the probable three we'll even both be in the office together. I'll quit when the project is done. Deal?"

"Deal." She rummages through her bag, and finds her cell.

"Who are you calling?"

"Emily and Lizzie."

She then pardons herself from the table and I can't help but follow unseen to see what she thinks is so important that it can't wait.

"Emily? I'm not coming tonight. ….I just realized Derek isn't leaving and it was all in my head. ….Well some horrible things have been going on at work and he told me that we can afford it if I quit. _We_ wouldn't be able to afford anything if he was leaving me. ….He got traded. ….Anyway I'll talk to you when I get home later. I might take the afternoon off, I can't do much until my meetings tomorrow anyway. I was actually calling to apologize for the way I acted at lunch yesterday. ….It wasn't like me. ….Yeah, bye."

Figures Ms. Organized couldn't decide not to participate in Emily's little plan without calling her as soon as the decision was made. But hey, I didn't want her to have to go anyway. I wonder why she's calling Lizzie. It's not like her to interrupt someone's honeymoon, except of course, Dad and Nora's, but then we all did that really.

"Hey Liz. Sorry for calling, but I really had to talk just for a few minutes. ….No, I'm not mad at Derek at all. I'm actually happier thanks to him than I've been in a long time. ….I'm calling you to apologize for all the crap I put you through lately. I know it's been a horrible time for me to have a breakdown. ….Mmhmm. Put Edwin on for a minute, please? Ed? I just wanted to apologize to you too, I've been pretty awful these past few months. ….I know. Derek and I just had a conversation that opened my eyes, and once I realized how stupid I'd been, I also realized how pigheaded as well. ….Okay, let me talk to Lizzie again. Bye, Ed. ….Well, I don't want to be more of a bother, so I'll explain it when you guys get back, but we were having lunch and discussing some things, one of which included some unsavory things that have been going down at my job, and he told me I should quit. ….Why are you giggling? ….Advice you gave Derek on women? Right. Well I'll tell you the rest later. Love you, bye."

I knew Lizzie would recognize it as my version of car buying, and once she hears about Casey's boss, she'll no doubt understand why. At any rate, I beat Casey back to the table, and wonder why it is I always have to go the long, hard way around to save myself from disaster. I also have to wonder why Casey makes it so easy for me to have a disaster to save myself from. Sometimes I can see the odd similarities in our relationship and those on the daytime soaps Lizzie has become addicted to, sad but true. Casey's always tearful and angry, ready to storm out at any trigger, while I spend an entire argument backpedaling and trying to save my masculinity. Don't get me wrong, we're great together. Sometimes though, I think we should see a counselor. Edwin and Lizzie had marriage counseling before their wedding, for about six weeks, and they seemed to learn a lot about what to expect from marriage. Casey seems to think we should see one too, but is convinced only Paul could handle our stepsibling status, and he's back home. Ed and Liz's group sessions were lead by a couple who didn't even know the two were stepsiblings. I'm pretty sure, to get Casey and I ready for our wedding, all our "dirty laundry" would need to be aired. Including the fact that we met when her mom married my dad. Sure, our friends and family were cool with it, but certainly we'd faced our share of backlash over it. No doubt if I were ever to reach Gretzky status, and Casey made some sort of career overhaul into a celebrity occupation, E! would be sure to do a True Hollywood Story capturing every twisted moment of our lives. Surely we'd need to be completely adjusted to ever deal with something like that.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: IMPORTANT. **This is chapter 8. I highly recommend that you read the companion one-shot "Oversexed Siblings" _first_. I wrote it after writing this chapter, however you will get a much more in-depth description of a scene from this chapter, that here you only get a mere snapshot of (literally). It also takes place during seasons 2 and 3 of the show, and also explains a bit of how Derek and Casey get together. Definitely go read that, and then come back and read this chapter. Of course, you can easily find it in my profile. I worked very hard to fact check, and make any changes I needed to make for that one-shot to match up to this chapter, so I hope I caught everything. Thanks! Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Life With Derek, House Hunters, the Boston Bruins, Red Sox, or Celtics, or Degrassi.

Derek's POV

Casey did, in fact, take the afternoon off. We both went home, intent on entertaining our guests, but I think our guests had something up their sleeves. Sam suddenly had some work to do and took his laptop down to the coffee shop. Delia wanted to show Emily a bridal shop her cousin runs. That left Trevor, who made his excuse, lamest of them all, to see a movie. Trevor _does_ seem like the 'see a movie alone' type, but it was pretty obvious the four of them were trying to give Casey and I some alone time. I think Casey just wanted to relax. The stress of her job has been enough on her, not to mention that until now she's been certain I was leaving. When they all left, she collapsed on the couch. I sat next to her, and she turned on "House Hunters", and it got me thinking about real estate again.

I'd been thinking about how spread out our family was about to become. Dad and Nora were back at home; Lizzie and Edwin had bought a house. Marti would be moving in with them for college, but she was looking into a foreign exchange program for at least one semester of her senior year. I know our parents have been driving her crazy, but the thought of her in some other country all by herself makes me nervous. More nervous than her dating makes me, which she's been doing entirely too much of, with me in another country. If Dimmy is anything toward Marti like Emily used to be toward me, I think I've got a right to be nervous. And if Marti is anything like me, I _definitely _have a right. So I'm an overprotective big brother, sue me!

Our parents weren't "empty nesters", they were excited about the thought of all that freedom. Dad only works four days a week now, and Nora three, surprising for a couple with five kids, one of whom still has college to attend. And Casey and I were moving to Maine. Not that it matters, but if I could manage to get pulled up to the Bruins specifically early in the season, Casey and I could come back here, where Lizzie, Edwin, soon Marti and the new baby would be. I think Casey wants to leave now, though. I definitely can't blame her, but I'm already feeling homesick.

Which brings me back to real estate. I'd been thinking I should buy a house or a nice large apartment. A permanent home, for the off-season and for when I'm too old and don't play anymore. A place big enough for children. But where? London, my childhood home? Boston, where Lizzie and Edwin are? Maybe Toronto; near home, but a city with opportunities. This was something to think about more seriously once I was in the majors. I know I shouldn't expect to move up, plenty of players stay in the minors their entire career. But I'd had talks with my coach, who said that I'd probably be pulled up within a year, and that this most recent trade was most likely only a short stopover. I'm twenty-six, certainly old enough.

As the family onscreen decided between a split-level ranch and a colonial I realized how happy I had become with the proposal. How ready I was. The show wrapped up and knowing I was very lucky that everybody had vacated the apartment, I pulled Casey into the bedroom.

"Derek, what if they come back?"

"Tough." As I unbutton her shirt I ask, "Hey you'll have quit by the time we go home for Nora's birthday next month, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well I was thinking after we leave there we could go on a vacation. Since it's the off-season, and you won't be working, we could be gone for a while. What do you say?"

"I say I'll pack my bags."

I think it's pretty obvious what happens next. It was different somehow, though. Like Casey was reacting to what had happened earlier in the day. It was, for lack of a better way of putting it, more comfortable than it had been in a long time. Relaxed. Which helped me relax, because I knew things were working out. And when everyone got back I think they could tell that things were better between us.

The week went quickly. Casey worked for the rest of the week, and I had business to attend to, even though the season was long over. Thursday, Edwin called and said that Lizzie had had to see the doctor again, and that she was kind of weak. Over the years I have discovered that Casey sometimes thrives on freaking out, because she worried a lot more than the rest of us.

Finally, it was Friday. The day that we'd all been looking forward to seemed to stretch on forever. I picked up Edwin and Lizzie at the airport at two. Lizzie seemed pretty okay to me. Maybe not as full of energy as usual, a little tired. I asked Edwin to explain more thoroughly what was wrong, and he said it wasn't anything to freak out over, that she was just weak and shouldn't exert herself. Sam, Delia, Trevor and Emily had taken this opportunity to pack up so they would be ready to go home tomorrow. Casey would be getting home around 5:45, so Edwin and Lizzie and I worked together to get ready for the evening. Lizzie had been adamant that Casey have an elegant, luxurious (read: expensive) proposal. She said, and I quote "Casey thrives on all those cheesy things you read in books. Basically it's all going to make you want to roll your eyes." And yes, parts of it did. The thing is, from the time she came home, Casey was going to figure out what was going on, I just know it. By the time I actually said the words she'd been dying to hear, she'd have known I was going to say them for a good while. Because it's all so obvious. None of this is anything she'd become accustomed to; she'd know something was up. Edwin has no idea how easy he had it. Lizzie was happy with being surprised by his being back at home and a nice dinner. Yes, I was proposing at dinner, but it was all the incidentals leading up to it. Casey was going to make this hard on me. But then, Casey was always a challenge. And that's always been my favorite thing about her.

Edwin's POV

I think people should get to take a honeymoon more than once. Lizzie and I could so do this again. It was great. Now I could tell you we never left the hotel room, but please, we all know that's just a stupid stereotype. Oh, believe me, we had plenty of fun there too, but that's not all. Thanks to Lizzie's interest and career in the theatre, we saw a Broadway show every night. We ate great food. We went to the zoo, and saw many of the city sights. That first afternoon, when Liz fainted, I worried, but the doctor said she was okay. Then Thursday, it happened again, and when I brought her back to the same doctor, and he consulted with her regular one, they decided together that she get plenty of rest and not exert herself too much. It wasn't hard. We only had a day left before we came home, and finding less strenuous activities than the ones planned wasn't too hard. Not in the city that never sleeps, anyway.

Casey's POV 

I got home a little early today, excited to see Lizzie and Edwin again, but no one was home. I thought it was weird that the place was so empty, but maybe they were at Ed and Liz's. I hit the button, noticing the answering machine light was flashing.

"You have three new messages."

"Derek, this is Bob Warren. We need sizes for your new uniform and a short bio for the website. Call me when you can. Thanks."

"Derek? Casey? Whichever one of you gets this first, let Emily know that I used the spare key she left me to sleep on her couch. In other words, I ran away. Don't worry; I'll go back in a couple of days. I was really angry. I was watching an old episode of Degrassi, one where Manny snuck into Emma's basement bedroom through the window, and Dad paid just enough attention to decide I had to move back upstairs. My only saving grace is having a floor between us. Hey, do you guys think you could talk to him? Well, just wanted to let Emily know. Thanks. Bye."

Marti has a temper. At the same time, Mom and George had gotten progressively overly strict since the four of us got out of the house. It was a lot easier to parent one child strictly than it was five, and all that slack they'd cut Marti as a child was being "made up" for now. I'll call George and see what I can do.

"Miss MacDonald, this is Elaine Westin at the Massachusetts Regional Writers Conference. Your piece has been selected as a winner, so you're getting a free ticket to the conference next month. Please call me at 555-8587 so we can further discuss your story. Thank you!"

I couldn't believe it. I never thought my piece, loosely based on my own life, but fictionalized, could have captured their attention. I mean, yes, the circumstances are attention getting, but I thought my writing was horrible. Derek always says that everyone is their own worst critic and that my stories are well written, but I'd always thought that was just how he kept himself out of the doghouse.

I went into the bedroom. I wanted to change clothes before I headed over to Lizzie and Edwin's, which is where I'm pretty sure everyone is. I noticed an envelope on the bed. I opened it and found what looked like an invitation.

It read:

Your presence is requested at dinner.

A taxi will pick you up downstairs at six.

Short but to the point. I had about thirty minutes to get ready. I slipped into my new black halter dress and sling backs, threw my hair into a French twist, and reapplied my makeup. I figured if "my presence is requested" and a "taxi will pick me up" and judging just by the general style of the invitation that I should err on the fancy side of things. During that time I wondered what Derek was up to. This was obviously his doing.

I threw my stuff into a handbag and headed downstairs. The first thing I noticed when I got into the taxi was that we headed toward the ballpark. I happen to have a favorite restaurant in that area, and I'd always make Derek take me there when I agreed to see the Sox or the Celtics or the Bruins. It was a kind of a deal we had worked out. When he wanted me to go with him to a sports event, he'd take me to my favorite restaurant. If I wanted him to go to the ballet with me, I'd take him to a sports bar.

The spirit of compromise wasn't original to our relationship. It started when Derek made the varsity hockey team in high school. He wanted me to come to his games; I was a "good luck charm". I'd seen what being a good luck charm did for Edwin and Marti, not to mention that at the time I understood less about hockey than I understood how to break the news about my then new relationship to Emily. So I marched into Paul's office ready to rant.

"_Paul, Derek wants me to come to all of his hockey games." Paul knew that Derek and I were together; he was actually partially responsible. _

"_And you don't want to because you don't like hockey, right?"_

"_It's not just that I don't like it, I don't understand it. And it's like he wants me there as a trophy. He said I was a good luck charm."_

"_But no one knows about your relationship. So how would that make you a trophy?"_

"_Okay. True. But a good luck charm?"_

"_Well the last time Derek was in here…"_

"_Derek comes in here on his own?"_

"_Well he's only been in here three times."_

"_What do you talk about?"_

"_That's confidential. But we did talk over his career options. Casey did you know he is already being scouted by colleges and he's barely a junior?"_

"_I know. A few European schools are even scouting him. They all like his hockey skills, but his grades leave a lot to be desired."_

"_Have you and Derek ever talked about what he wants to do with his life?"_

"_He wants to play hockey. But I know little enough about it, that I don't know if that's even a plausible idea."_

"_Even if it isn't, he wants it to be. So don't you think that if he gets good vibes or pride or happiness from you being there for something that he wants to make a life out of someday that maybe you should consider it?"_

"_Hmm. Maybe you're right. Or maybe I'd agree to see all of his hockey games if he'd agree to come to my dance recitals."_

"_That seems fair. You could learn, and I realize that with two headstrong people like you two that this word isn't really in your vocabulary, to compromise."_

"_Compromise? Sounds tough."_

"_Well, it's not supposed to be easy, Casey. You have to be willing to give up something."_

With that I had walked out and convinced Derek that he should come to my dance recitals. Practically every time I would go to Paul's office it was about Derek. And every time I came out thinking differently than when I went in. Why didn't I just stop going? I'm kidding, of course.

Expecting the car to stop at the restaurant, I was surprised when it kept going. Then it headed somewhere else familiar, a much more recent memory, the hotel where Lizzie and Edwin had their wedding. I hadn't seen Derek act so romantic since we moved to Boston and truthfully, those four years of college, living alone, were different for us than any of the other years we'd known each other. Suddenly I remembered a part of that evening I'd brushed off when it happened. I should have known better than to brush it off, but I didn't. When Lizzie and Edwin started their vows, Derek was staring at me, and when I forced myself to meet his gaze, he mouthed, "I love you this much". Now that I think properly about it, by "this much" he must have meant he was willing to marry me. When I saw it though, I was so focused on making sure he didn't leave me that I didn't realize he never intended to. And again, now that I think properly about it, I realize that while I apologized to everyone else that I drove crazy recently, I never really apologized to Derek. That makes me rather mad at myself. The second I get the chance I will.

Finally the car stopped. We were at a small pub. It was where we took Lizzie and Edwin out to dinner their first night when they moved in with us. I look at the driver.

"I'll be waiting here, you are supposed to come back out soon."

"Thank you."

So there's a stopover? Unexpected. I went inside and found the hostess. She handed me a small book of pictures with a note that said, "to help with the last leg of the trip down memory lane." I took the pictures, thanked the hostess, and got back in the taxi.

I opened the album. The first picture was of Mom and George's wedding. It was taken only days after our first meeting. This one earned a grin from me as I remembered our bickering and my constant attempts to split up Mom and George. There was a caption underneath that read "I wonder how we would have reacted if someone had told us we'd start dating not even a year and half later?" Exactly.

The second picture was of Derek and I dressed up like Percy and Mary Shelley. I'd found that entire experience so ironic. Derek had only made fun of my grubbing at home. At school he'd done as much as he could to save my rep, a big step from his "Klutzilla" nicknaming days. And when I'd grubbed to help him pass English, he'd been much nicer than I'd expected him to be about it. Also, that was back when we hated each other, and already we were dressing up like famous romantic married writers. So ironic.

Picture number three was of me on crutches after he'd stolen the remote from me. That one housed the caption; "I wasn't much of a guy then, though I'd never admit it. Maybe you forgave me, but I always felt awful that I caused you any sort of pain. I'm also sorry I caused you so much pain recently. I should have dealt with it differently. I love you."

That was unexpected. Tears landed on the picture, because I'm the one who owes him an apology.

Picture four was of Sam and I. The caption simply read, "I was jealous." I laughed.

The fifth picture was of Derek, Sheldon and I at the school elections. "I should have paid more attention to you and your platform. However, Emily did make a surprisingly fantastic president."

The next one was of our first D-Rock performance at the battle of the bands, Derek and I almost grinding. It was captioned, "If I'd caught whoever leaked that footage, they'd have paid. And yet it was such a turning point for us." After Derek's and my little sexy dance together onstage, an emailed video had spread through the school like wildfire entitled "oversexed siblings". It was the results of this video that caused Derek and I to vehemently deny, and then later when we actually were together, hide our relationship from our schoolmates, Emily, Sam, and eventually Trevor excluded. The rest of the school didn't find out until our senior trip, when we decided we wouldn't ruin our own trip because of some school idiots.

This was followed with a picture of Lizzie and Scott at a soccer game. Underneath was written, "I wasn't mature enough to realize my behaving like that was wrong. Not yet. But I was definitely mature enough to know how furious it made me with him. Definitely a step in the right direction. I couldn't let anyone hurt you."

The next was a picture of the principals' office, paired with Derek's old student card. (Sentimental me forced him to keep that kind of stuff.) This one read, "I gained a new respect for you that day, Prankster."

The next picture was of Lizzie and Edwin at their birthday party, dancing together. This one said "if only it had been this simple for us!"

There were dozens more like this, from high school, college, and the more recent ones, too. My favorite was our high school graduation photo. Derek and I were in our cap and gowns, our arms around each other, and big smiles on our faces. I liked this photo because it was one of the rare, few opportunities when we could be happy for ourselves and each other, without our parents getting too suspecting. They thought that for such a special occasion, we'd just put aside our differences. And now that they _do_ know, we have pictures like that. Odd thought: does that make Derek and I high school sweethearts? Because that so just does not fit who we are.

Another favorite: our first day in our apartment in Boston after everyone left. I actually recognized this as a series of stills from Derek's video. There were several of these stills throughout the album. If Derek was ever injured and couldn't play hockey anymore, he could definitely make a living with his filming. He might not be good enough for Hollywood, but he could certainly go the indie route.

I'd gotten through the pictures in about twenty minutes, almost exactly the amount of time it took the driver to go from the pub to Lizzie and Edwin's house. I like that he gave me this opportunity, to go through my memories alone. I'd been crying for practically the entire ride. It's been a long time since I could take a trip down memory lane, and this was nice. I took my stuff from the cab and got out of the car, just as Edwin came out of the house and handed the driver some cash.

"Hey Casey." He threw his arms around me.

"Hey Ed. How's Liz? Better I hope."

"I told you it's nothing to worry about, she just needs to rest."

As he walked me inside, I took note of his slacks, button up shirt, and sports jacket. I was happy to see I'd worn the right attire. He looks a lot more natural in this than he did at Mom and George's wedding, or at dinner with my father. Seems he'd grown into the look. Still, every time I saw him wearing something like that, my mind goes straight back to twelve year old Edwin pitching his game about gas. We went inside, and I found Emily talking to Lizzie. My sister did indeed look tired. Still as soon as she saw me, she jumped up and gave me a big hug.

"Casey! How are you?"

"I'm great. You should sit down though. What is that wonderful smell? Where's Derek?"

"Derek is out back barbecuing, and that smell is pork and sausage."

"Mmmm. I haven't had Derek's barbecue since our last trip back home. Thanks to the lack of grill at the apartment. I didn't know you had one here."

It was a little known fact, that I, Casey the health food freak, had a soft spot for barbecue, specifically when Derek prepared it. I know what you're thinking, barbecue? But I love it.

As I headed outside, I passed through the kitchen and found Delia tossing a salad and Trevor pouring tea. I knew Trevor was a fellow writer and was tempted to tell him about my winning piece, but decided I'd wait until dinner and tell everyone. I think I might have time to call the woman first, too.

Sam was on the small deck with Derek, who was adorable with that cheesy apron reading, "If you can't stand the heat, get back in the kitchen and away from the barbecue." I remembered when George had given it to him. He'd been in a barbecuing phase, which is something he'd be into for four or five months at a time, trying to barbecue three or four nights a week. Derek didn't put effort into a lot, but something about standing in front of a grill became an obsession for him. Sort of like those fights on the ice. At any rate, George had been on an errand at a department store, and during his trek through the home department, he'd spotted the apron and later presented it to Derek at home. Derek had relished the apron, because since staining a new favorite shirt he'd decided he had to have one, and the ruffled purple floral one belonging to Mom wasn't cutting it. Especially since Emily had still been spying at him out her bedroom window at the time.

Derek heard me greet Sam, and in return, held out a fork with a piece of sausage on it for me. I ate it, and then asked him how much time I had before dinner was served. He said ten minutes, which gave me enough time to call Elaine Westin and ask a question or two. I walked into the small office and dialed.

"Hello."

"Ms. Westin? Casey MacDonald here. I was just calling because you left me a message earlier. About my piece."

"Yes! Your piece was just phenomenal. Every year, our top submission goes through a review board, and if it is deemed good enough, with the writers' permission, it can be published."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying your piece about the star crossed lovers and their similarly-fated siblings has been reviewed by a publishing house and if you let us, it would be packaged in a compilation of short novels and could be stocked in bookstores everywhere after going through the editing process."

Fascinating. That garbled up mess of a story, that was great when it was really happening, but really lost something in translation on paper, was supposed to turn into a novel. Well, novella. A novella that I wrote. I always thought that was impossible. But could I really out my own life story to the world? Sure, it wasn't factual, but the basis of it, two sets of stepsiblings who fell for each other, was the same. Surely it was bound to get out I'd had some experience in the matter. Hell, I could see the back cover picture blurb now:

Casey MacDonald, a transplant to New England from London, Ontario, lives with her own stepbrother, who she is in love with.

I mean, the readers who liked the story would get a kick out of it, sure. But the ones who overreacted badly, like our schoolmates so long ago? I'm sure I'd be flooded with letters. Who knows what else? Maybe I don't want to publish it.

I left the privacy of the office to find everyone making their way to the dining room. I pulled Derek back into the room with me.

"I want to apologize."

"For…making your mascara run?"

"Heh. No. For the way I behaved recently. Keeping things from you, being angry, thinking things were bad with us, not communicating about it."

That familiar smirk was playing around the corners of his mouth. Oh! I just knew it. I knew he was going to get some sort of twisted satisfaction from an apology from me. But he smiled.

"Thanks. But uh, lets just put it behind us, huh?"

"Uh, sure." I honestly never expected that response. I figured he'd hold the fact that I actually managed to admit that I had something to apologize for over my head forever. But he just let it go. That's not like him. Just last week I was trying to break in my shoes for the wedding and I tripped; Klutzilla was halfway out of his mouth before he started coughing and pretending there was something in his throat. Then again, when it comes to the small things like that, he knows I get a kick out of the jokes.

"I have an announcement I want to make, let's go eat."

I headed out of the room while he just stared out at me, like I'd stolen his thunder or something. Weird. Eventually, he followed, brows furrowed about something. We all sat around the dinner table, while Emily passed out drinks, and Edwin served up food.

"So, everybody, I have an announcement. I got a phone call today."

"Great announcement. I got an email."

"Nice, Ed, but I got a call from Elaine Westin. She's the head of the Massachusetts Regional Writers Conference. She called me about my _winning_ piece."

"A writers conference? Casey, that's amazing. I've been submitting pieces to the Central Ontario conference for years, you must have talent."

"Thanks Trevor. I've been submitting poems and short stories for several years, but this year I sent in a short novel, and it…well, it won the top prize."

"That's fantastic, Casey! What do you win?" this was from Emily.

"Free tickets for the conference and hotel stay, and my story could be included in a book of novellas."

"No way! You get published? You've been wishing for that since high school."

"I know, Liz. That's what makes the decision so hard."

"Decision? What decision? What's to decide? What writer could pass up getting published?"

"One who fictionalized their own life."

"You wrote about all this?"

"No. My story is completely different from my life…except for the two brothers falling for two sisters after their parents get married."

"I see your point."

The conversation turned to Lizzie's baby. Then it turned to Mom and George, which reminded me of that other phone call I got.

"Emily, Marti left a message too. She used that key you left, she's been sleeping on your couch for the past couple of days. Something about George deciding she had to move back upstairs."

"Okay, well as long as the place isn't trashed. I know what it's like to need to get away from your parents for a few days. Of course, when she goes back it'll only be worse. Surely your parents know she's safe, or they would have called."

"Yeah I think they know where she is. I think they just want to let her cool down. Though the reason they gave for moving her back upstairs means its kind of strange they'd let her be over there all alone for a few days."

"What happened?"

"Marti was watching an old Degrassi with Emma's basement sneak-in window, and George decided she had to get out of the basement."

"Wow."

"Yeah."

Eventually, the conversation started to get stale, at which point Derek went for the simple approach. I swear I didn't know what was happening, though he's convinced I knew from the cab ride and the pictures what was up. I just thought he was doing something special just to be doing something special. To cheer me up with all this crap at work.

Anyhow, like I said, he went for simple, which was a good idea, because when Derek starts to get too wordy, he steps all over his words and then gets himself in trouble.

"Casey, I know I've driven you crazy and I'm not perfect and I've hurt you more than I'd like to admit. I know I could be better, and I promise you that every day I try. If you could, I'd like you to look past all that. Marry me?"

"What, no ring?"

"You mean you haven't found it yet?"

I know I looked confused until Derek said "Case, every time we go out to dinner you go on and on about the centerpiece."

He's right, I did, that among other things. I just notice my surroundings. I think it's because my mom is an interior designer. I looked at the centerpiece on the table. The table Derek and I first dined at together. Then I saw the ring, hanging on one of the curls of the wrought iron candleholder.

The whole dynamic of our relationship is that I'm difficult. Well for him, and he's difficult for me. I couldn't just say "Oh yes!" I'm sure if I had, he'd have been incredibly disappointed. So I picked up the ring, handed it to him and said, "Well you have to put it on me first."

I have to hand it to him; he really tried. But he couldn't manage to keep from rolling his eyes and smirking when I said that. He did put it on me, and then I threw my arms around him and whispered, "of course I will."

Everyone started clapping and cheering and congratulating us. Lizzie got Mom and George on the speakerphone and we told them. We let Marti know as well. I tried to start cleaning up the table, but Derek told me he'd take Lizzie and Edwin to lunch for their trouble and that we should all go socialize before our friends went home. Which is what we did.

The next day, after we took our four houseguests to the airport, we went back to Lizzie and Edwin's. I expected we'd pick them up, but when we got there, Lizzie wasn't ready yet, because she's moving a little slower lately. Edwin came in with a surprise.

"These are for you."

"First class airplane tickets?"

"Remember last month when my stocks took a dive, so I sold them and bought shares in something else?"

"I remember you freaking out about stocks, yes."

"Well, the shares I bought have been bringing in quite a bit, and I had a little extra to play around with, so when we go home next month, I figured we could fly first class. There's really not enough room in those coach seats for a hockey forward's legs, or a pregnant woman's belly."

"Well, trust me Ed, as a hockey forward in the minors, I have plenty of experience stuffing my legs into coach seats, and it can be done. But I certainly don't mind the courtesy. Thanks."

"DEREK! Lizzie and Edwin are about to have a baby, they should be saving this money."

"Casey, trust me, Lizzie and I are financially comfortable. If we weren't, I wouldn't have bought the tickets. Take them, please."

"Oh. Um, fine. Thank you."

"Hey, guys. Sorry about the wait, I'm not used to all this fatigue."

"It's okay, Liz. It's Saturday, none of us has anywhere we have to go."

"Oh! Edwin, these are round trip tickets."

"Yeah…"

"We're not coming home after Mom's party. We're taking a trip. Derek's got his off season, and I'm going to be between jobs, so we're taking advantage of that."

"Oh. Well, I'll take care of it."

"Thanks."

Lizzie's POV

"So, Liz. You were supposed to be able to find out the sex of the baby at your last appointment, right?"

Edwin threw me an amused glare that said "I told you so."

"We're not finding out. We're going to wait and be surprised."

"Are you kidding me? Gosh, won't that drive you crazy? I'd go nuts!"

"Why? What's there to drive you nuts about? That you waited five more months to know something? It'll get here when it gets here, why obsess?"

"How are you going to dress your child?"

"In clothes."

"Edwin! This is no time for your snark!"

"I think it's the perfect time for his snark, Casey, you know I've always thought societal rules about dressing girls in pink and boys in blue were completely stupid."

"Yeah, don't you think you're overreacting? This isn't your choice to make, it's not your child." I think that was a semi-gutsy statement to make from the man who is going to father her children someday.

"Oh, whatever. Let's go get lunch."

Even when she's just been proposed to, Casey still manages to try to organize _my_ life. Go figure.

**A/N:** So there you have, a proposal, for those of you who were wondering if there was ever going to be one. Also, I hope you guys didn't think that it was cheesy, Casey writing about that. I know she likes to write poetry, and I imagine if I were in Casey's situation, I'd totally write about it, so again, I hope that wasn't, like, contrived or anything. Tell me what you think!


End file.
